


Run Boy Run

by BashfulTenrec



Category: The New Legends of Monkey (TV)
Genre: Canon divergence season 2, Canon typical child endangerment, Fan theory, Fix-It, Found Family, Gen, Hugs, Kaedo PoV, Missing Scenes, Mostly this fic is just to explain how Kaedo slept off the poison like a honey badger, Tripkey, my beta made me do it, seriously it'll get instantly jossed if we ever get season 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:28:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 31,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26804395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BashfulTenrec/pseuds/BashfulTenrec
Summary: Kaedo's perspective on the events of Season 2 with a theory about who Kaedo really is.
Comments: 15
Kudos: 24





	1. Chapter 1

“What’s your name, boy?”

“Kaedo Zef.” It was an easy enough lie to tell. He’d been telling it for a while now. It’s not like he didn’t know the Zef patriarch anyway; and his stolen Fangkris lent credence to his identity.

“Well now. You’ve certainly got quite the reputation.” The woman’s good eye flicked up and down, appraising him. It narrowed slightly in suspicion. “You’re a long way from home, Kaedo Zef. None of your clan has graced us with their presence in decades.”

He kept his countenance. “My family thinks this is a bounty worth the cost of travel.”

“And what makes you so special above all other bounty hunters?” she asked, her head tilting to the side, looking unimpressed. His borrowed name alone wouldn’t be enough to carry him with this woman. She was looking for something in particular.

He met her even stare with his own, the woman’s identity finally clicking in his mind before he spoke. “Because I know wherever the monk goes, the gods follow. Because I know what the monk means to you. What _she_ means to you and your Resistance.” Monica gave nothing away but a subtle shift of her weight and a slightly deeper intake of breath. She inclined her head and passed him a pouch of coins and a rolled up scroll.

“Half now. The other upon safe delivery. They were last seen-”

“I know where they’ll be.” He took one glance at the scroll and placed it back on the table. He didn’t need a poorly-rendered picture of this mark.

“Tell the others outside their services will not be required.”

\---

Kaedo prowled in the Graveyard of the Gods off the beaten path, waiting. If his timing was right, Tripitaka and her friends would be along soon. Then it would just be a matter of tailing them until he could plant a tracking stone on the monk to keep an eye on her.

He heard the group before he saw them and froze. His head snapped up at their voices, heart leaping in his chest at the thought of finally being close to his goal, and watched them split up in various directions in the woods. He hadn’t seen their faces, but he knew it was them. The river god with the scythe and the wild hair, the big and strong general of the celestial armies, the lean and bouncy Monkey King, and the monk in blue robes.

Tripitaka.

He was instantly struck by how _small_ she was. He couldn’t be too sure until he could actually stand next to her, but he noted how tall she was when she walked past a tree and ran up and judged his own height against it after she had moved on down the path. He studied the spot on the tree, noting that he was nearly the same height as the legendary savior of humanity.

It made him smile for the first time in weeks.

The second thing that struck him was how _vulnerable_ she was. Kaedo knew there wasn’t anything to fear in this elaborate garden of the fallen gods of the past, but the world loomed over Tripitaka. And she didn’t even realize. Observation of her surroundings wasn’t part of her legendary cleverness it seemed; it was far too easy to follow her. He didn’t have to try hard for her to not notice him, either. He probably should have expected this much since she was focused on finding some plant drawn on the scroll in her hand.

Part of him longed to be noticed, to be seen. He thought of the moment where the hope of humanity saw him for the first time and tried to imagine what it would be like. What would she think of him…?

No. Not now. Not yet.

He watched all four of the reunited questers collapse as the strange, somewhat exasperated guardian of the forest looked on. His hand drifted to his Fangkris, relaxing only when the woman walked away. It was only a moment before he was by Tripitaka’s side. He roughly flicked the Monkey King’s reaching arm aside with his boot, kneeling beside the monk and planting a tracking stone in her pouch. He hesitated, and flopped down on the Monkey King’s chest and allowed himself a moment to look at her face before he needed to disappear.

His breath caught in his chest. The pictures painted on countless scrolls about their quest hadn’t done her justice. The overall profile was familiar but they hadn’t captured the softness or kindness he knew was there. Even with her slack face as she slept he could see it. An emotion he didn’t want to deal with burned in his head, and he retreated to a safe observation spot before the weird gardening woman came back.

\---

The first thing Kaedo noticed about the Monkey King was how loud he was. Confident, yes, graceful, sure, but also very loud. And he didn’t have hands for some reason. He hadn’t been told about that detail. Kaedo tried not to roll his eyes as the supposed king loudly bemoaned having to sit still for hours and felt a stab of resentment how he demanded Tripitaka entertain him and scratch his back since his hands were currently unavailable. He didn’t know how she put up with him without constantly using that crown he wore against him.

To him, kings were supposed to have authority and wear it as their crown. Declarations were unnecessary. Monkey may have claimed the title as king but here he was showing himself to be a real horse’s ass. Kaedo knew Monkey possessed the ability to be kingly, so why wasn’t he now? He kept yelling about his power and status when really he was not the important one here; Tripitaka was. She was the one who was to fix the world that he broke. If it hadn’t been for this brash god, Tripitaka wouldn’t have to be on this arduous journey in the first place. Kaedo felt his lip curl and forced himself to be still.

Monkey didn’t deserve to be in her presence. She was far too good for him to be with, and yet she stayed by his side for the entire time his hands were buried in the earth. Even when he was constantly nettling her she remained, feeding him his dinner of soup and teaching him some of the ancient language of the gods. Kaedo frowned. He didn’t know Monkey was illiterate. He thought that being able to read the ancient language was a built-in feature of the gods and Tripitaka was just the exception.

Kaedo fought off a yawn as Tripitaka fell asleep close by to a still alert Monkey, feeling his eyelids grow heavy in sympathy. After shuffling around to find a somewhat comfortable position without making too much noise, he allowed himself to finally fall asleep.

\---

_Kaedo landed heavily on his hands and knees in a forest wreathed in a fading twilight. Panting, he looked around, his ears ringing, his heart racing. He looked around shakily. “Mom? …Dad?”_

_Nothing but the nocturnal sounds emerging from the surrounding cold trees answered. He was alone. Tears stung his eyes and he struggled to keep himself calm like he’d been taught and scrubbed them away. He screwed his eyes shut and listened intently, dismissing any forest sounds and straining to hear the faintest indication of people._

_His eyes snapped open and he took off at a light jog, arriving several minutes later at the side of a road where some travelers, human travelers, were gathered around the fire. Kaedo suppressed the urge to barge in and demand answers, and instead watched them._

_He didn’t learn much except the name of the next town up the road. He waited until the travelers fell asleep, and then, stepping light enough to make a fox envious, stole into the campsite and took what he needed to spend a night alone in the woods._

_Worst birthday ever._

\---

A single blade of sunlight poked Kaedo’s eye until he was awake and looking around. The gods and Tripitaka had already left. Not that it mattered; his tracking compass would make it easy to follow, just like it had with his other bounties. He grunted and rolled his shoulder. It would be nice once he actually met with the group to be able to sleep without being crammed away in the uncomfortable undergrowth out of sight.

He idly wondered what his mom was doing at the moment. Was she waking up right now as well? Was she thinking about him?

Movement fluttered in the corner of his eye and his breath caught as he saw a ghost of his mother walking past. He pulled in a breath to call out before he came to his senses and the sound died in his throat. It was just Mycelia, the weird gardener of the Graveyard. He felt rather foolish as he packed his threadbare things. It was obvious he’d only seen what he wanted to see and nothing more, and then he felt even more foolish that he was getting embarrassed at himself when no one had been around to witness it. Well, all except Mycelia. But her back had been turned as she knelt beside the remains of a smoldering fire. Why was she even here in the first place?

“Would you like some breakfast, dear?” she called without looking up from the coals. Kaedo froze, trying to gauge how fast she could run in that dress of hers. “Don’t be shy, love.” Kaedo rankled at being called shy. He was stealthy and cautious, not shy. He hesitated, realizing that the gardener hadn’t harmed Tripitaka’s group even while at her mercy, and stepped into the clearing, light on his toes.

“How did you know I was here?” he asked, feeling his voice crack from lack of use.

“Ol’ Mycelia knows everything that’s happening in her garden, love,” she replied with a smile, handing him a delicious smelling plate. He scarfed it down greedily, not taking his eyes off her for more than a second at a time. “Now why were you hiding in these trees all alone?”

Kaedo wiped his mouth. “Used to it.”

Mycelia shook her head. “That’s not something a little boy should be used to, dear.”

If one more person told him he shouldn’t be out on his own, he’d fling himself off a cliff. “Whatever.” He could tell that wasn’t the answer Mycelia was looking for. She tried again.

“And why are you tracking those four?” Her smile was kind, and he considered his words, trying to place who this person really was and became frustrated when nothing sprang to mind. She obviously didn’t wish harm to the four. She seemed concerned for their welfare...

“I’m watching over the monk,” he decided. “Nearly gutted you last night before you decided to help them,” he added, angling his body so his Fangkris was visible, hiding it behind a stretch.

Mycelia nodded, unperturbed. “Well if I was being watched over, I would like it if I knew who was doing the watching.” Kaedo piled a second helping onto his plate and ignored her. “I take it you know what it is they’re after?” Kaedo nodded and kept mechanically shoveling food in his mouth. “I can point out where they’re going…” she started to move her arm to gesture in one direction-

“I know they’re going to go to the Infinite Archive,” he interrupted her. Her hand changed to point in the correct direction fast enough he almost missed it. Time to go. He set the plate next to him and dusted himself off, briefly mourning not being able to eat a third portion. “Thanks for breakfast.”

“You be careful out there on your travels, love.”

Kaedo didn’t look back as he walked away, breaking into a sprint as soon as he was out of her sight all the way out of the Graveyard.

\---

Upon tracking them to the Infinite Archive, Kaedo got the sense that the four had been in there for a while and settled into a hiding spot to wait them out. From what he’d been told, he thought that this part of the journey was supposed to have been quick, and yet he’d been presented with building evidence that maybe these heroes of legend weren’t exactly as brilliant and flawless as he’d originally thought. In fact, they were basically just a collection of clueless idiots running around shepherded by a monk that was more naïve and green to adventuring than he’d first assumed. How they got anything done was a mystery to him. Even more a mystery was how they were supposed to save the world, even with someone as brilliant and canny as Tripitaka leading them. Maybe they just stumble into it after all is said and done.

The perfect heroes or the bumbling saviors. If he was honest with himself, he didn’t know which story he preferred, although he did feel a smug sense knowing which was the truth.

He heard footsteps coming up from the road. A few minutes later a demon with an oversized skull marched up to the Scribe Guardian and demanded entry. Cranius. Kaedo twitched at the sight of the Scribe’s fruitless efforts to repel the demon, and forced himself to be still to not give himself away. He ground his teeth, all of his muscles on fire.

He told himself they all had a part to play. He told himself he couldn’t kill Cranius now.

He looked away when the moment of the Scribe’s death occurred, the shame of his inaction burning in his stomach. He didn’t look back until Cranius had entered the Archive and all was deathly silent. Kaedo slowly stood, his joints snapping from being in such a tense crouch for so long. He went over and gazed down at the Scribe’s face, frozen in a rictus of fear.

Tripitaka didn’t need to see this.

By the time Tripitaka and the gods emerged from the Archive a quarter hour later, he’d already carried the Scribe away and buried him where he wouldn’t be found by the group, giving the guardian the full last rites Kaedo had heard so many times growing up. He wasn’t a monk, but the Scribe deserved them. Maybe in the afterlife the Scribe would forgive him for not saving his life.


	2. Chapter 2

When he’d trailed the group to the humble fishing village, Kaedo thought it would be difficult to sneak in, but found it far too easy to slip in with the other villagers walking across the poorly conceived trench in the late afternoon. Upon observing the locals, a child snatcher was on the loose and the Monkey King was trying to help them and doing it badly. Typical. Tripitaka and Sandy were mingling with the locals doing what they could, so Kaedo let them be and listened to the parents speak to each other in hushed whispers about the missing children and their fears.

Kaedo’s heart clenched. Did his parents miss him? Did his mom miss him?

He observed a mother calling out for her son, face spasming with tears and fear and his heart seized in pity, uncomfortably confronted with the sheer force of her grief. He took a shaky breath, fighting off his own welling emotion at the mere thought of his mother feeling the same way at his sudden absence.

He pulled out his compass, his one piece of home, and stared at it. It was pointed straight at Tripitaka, as it should be, giving him a sense of reassurance for something he could control. She was here and not going anywhere. Another thought gnawed at his mind that he’d tried so hard to not think about while he traveled.

Given the nature of his journey, would they ever know of his absence? If they did, did his mother know why he was suddenly gone?

His thoughts, as always, followed the deeply etched and achingly familiar pathway in his mind and turned to home. He missed his mother’s hugs and her kind conversations and lessons. He missed being able to have a place to return to at the end of a journey of adventure and wonderment by her side. He missed his extended family visiting them to bring him gifts and chase and wrestle him in the garden. He swallowed hard. He even indulged a small corner of his mind, for just a small moment, to miss his dad before his stomach turned. The thought was shoved aside.

Would he ever be able to go home?

All the doubts and fears he’d stuffed down for his entire wanderings came crashing in, the now darkened skies of the night reflecting his dread.

After all this time he’d tried to not consider this possibility, even if he’d subconsciously planned for it. Even if he’d safely delivered Tripitaka, what would he do then? What _could_ he do? How would he even begin to go back? His throat closed up, and he shakily clutched at the compass with numbing hands, his heart feeling like it was going to burst right through his ribs.

_He might never go home._ His mom would never see him again. He dragged a ragged breath into his aching chest. He’d never see her again. No, no, no…

Tripitaka walked by his hiding spot, glancing around, searching for something before moving on. Kaedo gulped in another breath before staggering to his feet, forcing himself to focus on the job. Why was she alone? And with a kidnapper roaming around? Why was she unarmed? He could fix that. He could see how capable, how far along she was in her role as a warrior monk.

He couldn’t bear it to only watch just a second longer.

He was standing behind her with no memory of how his feet had moved him there. Kaedo watched as his arm floated through the air and reached out for Tripitaka, becoming suddenly a part of him again yet made of stone as she turned-

She saw him.

Kaedo flinched back from her detached, scrutinizing stare. He knew he shouldn’t have felt hurt that this legendary hero, the hope of humanity, was evaluating him as if he were a threat, even though he was here to help. Despite all this, it did bring him a small level of cheer that she was shifting into a classic monk stance, denoting some level of training. His fingers flexed, and he swung his fist.

She was able to keep up with him reasonably well as they exchanged blows. Each point of brief contact was enough to drive a wedge of _calm_ into his heart as she parried his swings and dodged his kicks. The night felt sharper, the ground more stable as they clashed, the fear bleeding away into excitement.

Yes, even though he was severely restraining himself, she was on track for her training, which was most reassuring. Still had a long way to go, but there was a strong base to build on. Perhaps he could take off the kid gauntlets after all-

-the monk grabbed him in a reverse grip on his throat, her other hand locking his wrist. It wasn’t forceful enough to either crush or cause pain, but it had just enough intent behind it to give Kaedo pause. He stared down into her concerned yet determined eyes. The unfamiliarity of her gaze sent a thousand unfair stinging cuts down his spine as she slowly stood. In a large motion he swatted her arms away and broke free, going on the offensive until he had her pinned against the village’s well with a boot to her throat and had her staring down the business end of his Fangkris.

“Didn’t your mother ever warn you about wandering at night by yourself?”

Well that wasn’t what he’d been planning to say at all. He couldn’t count how many nights he’d lay awake imagining and refining endless scenarios on what his first face to face words would be to Tripitaka ever since he realized he could meet her. The sentence that tumbled out of his mouth had been a rather cruel joke he’d bitterly thought of on the road. Still, he could salvage this. It lent credence to his unfamiliarity with her story.

“Unarmed, too?” Tripitaka stared at him in confusion as he passed her the Fangkris. She needed it more than he did. With luck she’d be able to hold onto it for the rest of her travels. Her expression changed when she realized he wasn’t an enemy. Kaedo hesitated before pulling off his goggles so they could actually look at each other face to face.

She took one look at him and let out a laugh, relaxing instantly. Kaedo bristled.

“What’s so funny?” he demanded. This wasn’t going as he’d imagined at _all_. He hadn’t anticipated the legendary Tripitaka’s first reaction to him to be mockery.

She gave him a derisive look. “You’re just a boy.”

Kaedo fought off the urge to retort that she was just a kid too, pretending to be a boy at that, and had gotten beaten by another boy, but held his tongue before replying.

“And you’re Tripitaka, the hope of humanity! But yet you’re still strolling around like a lost puppy, trying to get yourself killed.” He tried to keep the edge out of his voice but failed. He probably should’ve waited to interact with Tripitaka until he’d fully calmed down from letting his emotions run away from him earlier, he realized with annoyance. Tripitaka’s eyes had also turned annoyed.

She casually waved around the Fangkris, and his eyes widened. “So you attack me with-”

“Be careful of the tip. It’s poisoned.”

Tripitaka noticed his change in demeanor and halted. “Oh, great.” Kaedo again felt a prickle of irritation that she was so condescending towards him, but had to patiently let it go. She didn’t know who he was or why he was here, after all. It wasn’t her fault.

“Your god companions have been tricked into turning this village into a trap,” he informed her, letting his voice turn mild and concerned to appease her. It tended to work on his mother, after all. “You need to get back to your quest while you still can.”

Her face turned guarded instead. “What do you know about my quest?” That probably wasn’t the best thing to say. Mycelia’s words came to mind and he decided to show his hand.

“I’ve been tracking you ever since the Graveyard of the Gods,” he said with a lopsided smile. “Check your pocket.” He held up his compass, not that she would understand the significance of it, and she examined the tiny glowing stone he’d planted on her.

Her face remained unchanged. “Listen, kid.” Kaedo’s smile faded at her stern tone. His back straightened a little. “I don’t know whoever sent you, but-”

One of the parents of the fishing village wailed that their child had been taken, and Kaedo decided now would be a good time to vanish and disappeared into the shadows to wait out another opportunity to speak with Tripitaka. At least now she knew she had someone other than her oftentimes unreliable god friends looking out for her.

\---

_Kaedo skipped down the path, hopping on each stone paver along the way and examining his new tracking compass his dad had given him until he reached the archive of scrolls his mother maintained. “Mom?” he called at the threshold._

_“In here, Kaedo!” she called, her voice echoing through the shelves of thousands of scrolls. He followed the sound of her voice easily and bounced up to her. Upon seeing him, she shook her head in disbelief, but her kind eyes and loving smile made his heart soar. “By the gods, do you grow fast.” She ruffled his hair. “Soon I’ll be the one looking up at you.” Kaedo grinned and wrapped his arms around her as she kissed the top of his head before she turned back to the shelves._

_“Dad said to give this to you,” Kaedo said, holding out the scroll. He frowned as it grew warmer in his hand. His eyes widened when he could see the floor through his arm. “Mom?”_

_She kept walking away, humming a song to herself._

_“Mom!” Kaedo called louder, shriller, his heart freezing as his arms and legs vanished entirely. “MOM!” His dad walked through Kaedo to greet his wife. “DAD!”_

_“Where’s Kaedo?” his dad asked._

_“Don’t know. I guess he’s gone,” she replied. “Strange.”_

_“Finally,” his dad grumbled._

_Kaedo’s entire body went numb as he silently screamed for his mom to see him._

\---

Kaedo bolted upright, body soaked with sweat. He took a few ragged gasps and ground the heel of his hand to scrub the tears away.

Well that last part of his dream was stupid. It hadn’t happened that way at all.

Stupid brain twisting a memory. He hated it when that happened. Stupid village and its stupid kidnapper making his mind uneasy. Last night probably hadn’t helped. His mom would never just quietly accept his absence. She’d be like the parents in the village. Kaedo grumbled to himself as he glanced around. He’d overslept a _lot_ as the late morning stared accusingly at him from above the trees, but he could tell the ragtag group was still around.

Ragtag. They used to be filed under ‘legendary heroes’ in his mind. Oh well. He supposed his preconceptions about the group destined to save the world had to be thrown at the window at one point or another. At least this one had been discarded rather quickly.

He was about to go liberate some dried fish from a nearby house like he had last night before he heard a shrill scream of another horrified parent. He automatically looked around for Tripitaka and, upon not seeing her, followed the noises to a large wooden cage he distinctly hadn’t remembered being there last night.

The villagers had certainly been industrious as he overslept… Even if it was a poorly-conceived plan of defending their children. His gaze swept the crowd until he finally picked out the telltale flash of blue belonging to her small frame as she stood in front of the cage. She shrank back, hand reaching down for the Fangkris, and Kaedo could tell the crowd was turning into a mob. He darted forward, snagging a spear resting by a nearby barrel and planted himself by her side. He took one glance at her for a fraction of a second before turning his attention back to the crowd. What was that on her face?

“Hold it like you mean it,” he instructed. He watched her out of the corner of his eye as she looked at him before adjusting her grip. Her knife skills were pitiful, maybe as bad as Sandy’s. Maybe a knife hadn’t been the best weapon to give to her…

“It’s okay. They’re villagers, not warriors,” she said shakily. Kaedo could tell she was doing that thing where she pretended to be calm but she was frightened half to death. His fingers flexed around the spear even tighter. A part of him wanted to burn the place down just for making her feel unsafe.

Something whizzed by their heads and thudded into the wooden bars of the cage at their backs.

“Was that a boot? Who threw the boot?” he snapped, glaring into the crowd. First of all, how dare these backwater yokel peasants even _think_ to throw a boot at Tripitaka? Didn’t they know who she was, how important her quest was? She was trying to save them, save all of them, save all of humankind, and they threw a _boot_ at her?! Frankly it didn’t even matter if they stopped the child snatcher, if they didn’t overthrow the demons and restore balance, another child snatcher would move into the void.

No one saw the big picture here. Infuriating.

“I think we’ll be safest in the cage,” Tripitaka murmured. Kaedo agreed, pulling her back into the cage and locking the gate.

“I wish you’d done a little bit more self-defense training,” he lightly commented to her, eyeing the mob rattling the wooden bars. Again, the skill she had was better than nothing, but he couldn’t help but mention it again.

“Careful. There’s another boot out there and your mouth makes a pretty big target,” she snapped at him with a glare before turning back to the mob.

The words themselves didn’t bother him, but the attitude coming from her felt like a particularly deep sting. “You know I don’t have to be here, right?” he ground out before he could help himself.

“Nobody invited you,” she retorted with a glare, her fear predictably turning into frustration at the closest available target. Kaedo bristled again before he turned his irritation towards the crowd and lashed out at the bars. Some jumped back before shaking the cage again. It wasn’t Tripitaka’s fault. She didn’t know why he was really here; she wasn’t supposed to know.

She could never know.

“We’ll just hold them off until Monkey gets here,” she said, trying to bring her voice back to calm.

Something inside Kaedo snapped. The gods weren’t around to protect her. Monkey wasn’t here. He couldn’t be counted on to protect her, and yet here Kaedo was, doing the gods’ work. What if no one had been there for her? “What have I said about self-reliance?” he hissed at her. He regretted it instantly; she wasn’t the center point of his rage.

“Um, nothing?” she replied. Her quizzical look turned scornful. “There are three gods on this quest. They always come through; I trust my friends.”

“And where are they now, monk?” he demanded, his words curling into a sneer. “You can only count on yourself in this world. You’re all you’ve got.”

Tripitaka stared at him, fear creeping back into the corners of her eyes while at the same time being puzzled by the intensity of his disdain for her companions, before she realized the children were outside the village gates. The mob withdrew and left them to open the cage themselves and follow. Kaedo felt a burden he didn’t know he was shouldering lift when he saw the gods leading the stolen children to be reunited with their parents. He felt the twinges of envy melt into his relief as he glanced at Tripitaka.

Tripitaka returned the look, a kind glance that just barely skirted the edge of a superiority complex.

Fine. The gods had come through after all, he silently admitted with the tiniest of smiles. Tripitaka didn’t miss his expression and smiled wider, playfully nudging his shoulder with her own. The brief contact from her, in all of its casual amity, was an earthquake that shook him to his core. He blinked, astonished at her gesture, and realized he was entirely starved for more as he smiled at her, genuinely, for the first time.

After things had settled down and the group of questers were about to depart for their journey, Monkey prowled up next to him as Kaedo trailed behind Tripitaka. Kaedo tried to keep a straight face. This ought to be interesting.

“So, where did you get the Fangkris, kid?” he asked, tossing his hair.

“Belonged to my father, and his father, and his father,” Kaedo said dismissively, leaving it open to interpretation.

He watched the gears in Monkey’s head turn. “You’re a Zef?” he realized, looking impressed.

Kaedo’s eyes lit up that the god had so easily bought the lie. “Kaedo Zef. Pleased to meet you.” Another lie. He couldn’t resist nettling Monkey as he shook his hand. “And you are…?” He grinned as Monkey threw his hand up in exasperation. This was far too easy, and far less than the arrogant god deserved. Monkey loudly rattled off a bunch of meaningless titles, some of which he’d stolen from other people’s accomplishments, namely Tripitaka’s, until Kaedo gave him an undisguised judgmental look. “That’s pretty long,” he commented blandly.

“Yeah, well, you’re pretty short,” Monkey groused, clearly unable to come up with a better retort.

Kaedo smirked. “Really? Because I’m taller than your leader,” he replied, gesturing to Tripitaka. He’d clearly won that interaction and they both knew it.

“No you’re not,” Tripitaka insisted, standing close to him and looking just over his head. “You’re not!” Kaedo’s heart leapt at her newfound familiarity, and his grin widened. For the first time in a long time, he wasn’t alone. And for the first time since meeting the most important person in the world face to face, he wasn’t lonely.


	3. Chapter 3

Journeying with Tripitaka and the three gods shined an uncomfortable light on how the lies he told himself on the lonesome road fell apart so easily. He told himself he didn’t want other people around him. A lie. He told himself he was used to being alone. Another lie. He told himself he’d never feel that warmth of _belonging_ to something ever again.

He was surprised at how easily that particular lie had crumbled.

He was also surprised at how easily the group seemed to accept traveling with him. He anticipated that he’d have to earn their grudging respect, staying on the fringes until he did something suitably heroic or noble for their tastes before he was fully incorporated into the fold and he could shepherd them to his goal in earnest, but that wasn’t the case. Pigsy was more than happy to tell him old stories of the gods and his exploits when Kaedo prompted him. Sandy readily shared some of her strange poetry with him, and they both laughed and threw knives at the trees as they walked, much to Tripitaka’s dismay. Tripitaka in particular was eager to walk beside him, even sparring with him. Maybe it was because he was by far the closest to her age, but he wasn’t complaining at her nearness. He told himself it was easier to keep an eye on her this way, but basked in her warm attention, staunchly avoiding Monkey’s wary eye. As long as he stayed away from him and his arrogance and ego, the happier Kaedo would be for sure.

Even if Monkey was quite fun and easy to aggravate.

“So, five hundred years trapped in a mountain?” he asked shrewdly, catching up to Monkey. “Did they let you go out to the bathroom?”

He could hear Tripitaka’s faint chuckle behind him. His grin widened.

Monkey sighed. “I’m a master of Dragon’s Style, Tiger’s Tooth,” he declared, swinging his staff around, “And fifty kinds of body control that you’ve never even heard of, kid.” He looked down at Kaedo smugly.

Kaedo snorted to himself. Monkey wasn’t the only one trained as such. His dad had insisted he learn how to fight almost as soon as he was coordinated enough to walk. “Still doesn’t really answer the question,” he said blithely, knowing exactly how much his tone would needle the god.

“There was a bit of a smell up on the mountain,” Tripitaka added dryly. Kaedo sent her a triumphant look; gleeful she’d so gamely taken his side as Monkey groused at them.

As they walked, Pigsy asked Tripitaka if he could see the Fangkris, and she handed it over without a thought. As he examined it, Kaedo dropped back to walk beside them.

“It’s fine craftsmanship,” Pigsy mused, handing it back to her. “Might keep you out of trouble for once.”

Kaedo certainly hoped so.

Tripitaka’s mouth quirked as she carefully turned it around in her hands, getting a proper look at the weapon. “I don’t know. I feel kind of bad using a weapon forged from a creature whose kind got wiped out. Especially a dragon.”

Typical guilt Kaedo would expect from her. He rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry about the dragons. They’re still out there.”

He felt several eyes on him and he realized that probably wasn’t the smartest thing to assert so nonchalantly. Tripitaka looked between him and Pigsy. “But Pigsy said that they were all killed off to make them,” she said slowly. Pigsy squinted at Kaedo, his gaze not yet suspicious but still silently inviting a good explanation.

Kaedo shrugged. “If I was a dragon and I realized my kind was being hunted down, I’d go into hiding. They’re smart beasts. Of course they still exist, surely,” he snorted.

Pigsy’s mouth turned into a thin line while Sandy and Monkey seemed content to accept this notion. Tripitaka glanced at the Fangkris, and Kaedo could tell she had allowed for the tiniest of her innumerable burdens to fall off her shoulders. She could dare to hope she wasn’t using a relic of an extinction event. He let himself be cheered that he’d given her that gift.

“Maybe we can meet a dragon one day,” she said. Kaedo smiled at the brief glimpse of her sense of wonder at the mere concept she could see such a magnificent creature of legend.

“With your life and how weird it can be, maybe so,” he agreed.

“Might want to hide the Fangkris if you ever come face to face with a dragon, though,” Monkey interjected rudely. Kaedo wanted nothing more than to punch him across the face for ruining the moment. Tripitaka sheathed the weapon and walked for a bit before considering him.

“What?” Kaedo asked.

“So how is it a boy like you has been following us around? Someone your age shouldn’t be out in the woods alone,” she told him. Kaedo’s mood dropped like a stone. He hadn’t been anticipating this conversation for a while yet.

He shrugged her off, and she gave him a look full of concern. His mouth tasted bitter. “My dad dropped me in the woods for my eleventh birthday and left me there to find my way back home. I’m _fine_ being by myself.” He noticed Sandy giving him a sorrowful look filled with empathy.

“Your dad sounds like a real peach,” Monkey commented, raising an eyebrow.

Kaedo’s jaw clenched, and Tripitaka’s eyes met his with sadness, angering him further. He didn’t need her pity. “The Scholar would never do that to me. I’m so sorry, Kaedo.” She considered. “Did he ever apologize or explain why?”

“We haven’t been on speaking terms in over a year.” Kaedo kicked a rock out of his way, trying to find a calm place in his mind so he didn’t lash out from his reopened wounds. “So, no.”

“Well, I lived in the woods for the first decade of my life. Builds character,” Monkey scoffed. “How old are you anyway, like five? Humans all look alike to me.”

Kaedo and Tripitaka threw him a synchronized look that made him step back.

Pigsy whistled. “Wow. No one’s been on the receiving end of a twofold Tripitaka stare,” he said. “How does that feel?”

“Uh, yeah, anyway, how old are you?” Monkey looked uncomfortable.

“Thirteen.” Monkey raised an eyebrow at this and Kaedo blinked angrily, nose wrinkling. “If you round up,” he muttered under his breath.

“He’s like a baby! But not quite,” Sandy said, squishing Kaedo’s cheeks. He swatted her away but her actions were inevitable in that they made him smile. “A very pointy, grumpy old baby.”

“Alright, maybe we’re just getting testy because that blasted scroll led us to the Valley of Despair,” Pigsy said, shouldering his way in between Kaedo and Monkey.

“Why is it called the Valley of Despair anyway?” Sandy asked.

“I bet it’s not good,” Pigsy grumbled.

Monkey shot Tripitaka an annoyed look. “Ask the Scroll of Stupid. It sent us here.” Kaedo’s eyes narrowed. Tripitaka didn’t deserve his ire. Following the scrolls was kind of their thing, wasn’t it? He imagined embedding several throwing knives in Monkey’s vest. Not enough to kill him, of course, but enough to send a very clear message. His fingers twitched at the thought.

“It suggested this is the path to the Scroll of Creation,” she replied. Kaedo was impressed at her restraint and patience. Granted, she’d probably had more than enough practice dealing with such a petulant traveling companion.

“Did you ask if it was the quickest path to the Scroll of Creation?” Pigsy complained. “The easiest path to the Scroll of Creation? The safest path--”

“Okay, Pigsy, I got it,” Tripitaka interrupted, starting to lose her temper. Kaedo shot Pigsy a disgruntled glance. Monkey’s backtalk to Tripitaka was to be expected, but from Pigsy? He expected better. At least Sandy knew how to stay in line. She just shot Kaedo an uncomfortable glance.

Something metallic bounced and rolled heavily towards the group. Kaedo sighed. A gas dispenser. Wonderful.

“If you’ve got masks, now would be a good time to put them on,” he suggested, glancing at Tripitaka, who nodded and fiddled with her scarf.

“Thank you!” Monkey replied dismissively. “But I don’t take life advice from snotty-nosed kids.” He prodded the orb with his staff, and predictably it began hissing at them as gas poured from its insides.

“It’s some kind of poison,” Kaedo warned, pulling on his mask as Tripitaka tucked her scarf around her nose and mouth.

Monkey scoffed. “No, it’s not. To a human, maybe,” he added as he swaggered directly into the cloud. Kaedo rolled his eyes and pulled on Tripitaka’s arm to lead her into the stand of trees, out of direct sight of whoever was going to attack them. She was quite willing to follow. They watched as Monkey shouted a challenge and let the words trail off and his staff fall to the ground, completely enraptured by a woman in a golden dress.

Considering she had access to high-grade gas weapons, Kaedo figured she was a demon who belonged to the same group Cranius was in, but couldn’t recall a name or powers to match her description, which was most perplexing to him. She probably wasn’t too much of a threat.

The demon planted a kick to Monkey’s torso and he went sailing through the air into Pigsy’s arms.

…Alright, perhaps she might be a threat after all.

Kaedo, Tripitaka, and Sandy watched in utter bewilderment as a giggly Monkey began to fawn over his somewhat repulsed companion, wrapping him in an enthusiastic bear hug. Kaedo glanced unsurely at Tripitaka. Monkey wasn’t overly affectionate by any means, so how was she going to react to this? Tripitaka turned her body partly towards Kaedo in acknowledgment but was unable to tear her eyes away from the two, equally confused and concerned. The cloud of gas made its way over to Pigsy, who went slack and stared at Monkey, muttering something Kaedo couldn’t hear.

The demon charged the gods, but Sandy intervened and tackled her away. Pigsy and Monkey looked impressed, now eying her up and down. Pigsy asked if she wanted to be his girlfriend.

“What?” Sandy asked, taken aback.

“Look out Sandy, it’s a love potion!” Tripitaka called. Kaedo quickly glanced between her and the gods. Yeah, that made sense. He watched the gods again, feeling nauseated.

“Oh, don’t worry! I’m immune to love!” Sandy replied happily from within the cloud of pink gas, glancing at her. “I’m sure it’ll have absolutely no effect on me whatsoever.” She blinked and her expression changed. “You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

Kaedo and Tripitaka exchanged another glance. Kaedo fervently hoped Sandy hadn’t meant him. The god darted forward and Kaedo blocked the way to Tripitaka out of reflex. The demon unintentionally interrupted and grabbed at Sandy’s scythe before being unceremoniously tossed away by Pigsy. Tripitaka tapped Kaedo’s forearm and he let her creep forward as the gods giggled and ignored Tripitaka as she lunged forward and tried to pry the group apart.

“Snap out of it!” she scolded. “Stop… _loving_ each other and start fighting that demon!”

Did Kaedo actually hear that sharp edge to Tripitaka’s voice, or had he imagined it? He’d heard her frustrated to the point of anger before. This seemed different. Sandy turned her attention to Tripitaka.

“You’re so wise!” she exclaimed, rushing forward before Kaedo could block the way again. Tripitaka squirmed away from the god’s iron grip, yelling for her to stop, backing her into the cloud. Kaedo took a single step with a growl just as Sandy’s pawing hands ripped Tripitaka’s scarf off her face.

Oh. Great.

The monk relaxed in an instant, staring up at her. “I love every single one of…” Her gaze drifted behind Sandy. _“You.”_

Kaedo followed her gaze and nearly gagged. Monkey had stripped off his armor and was peacocking around, staring at Tripitaka, flexing as he made his way over to her, carelessly tossing away the scrolls. Kaedo fought to swallow the bile that rose in his throat. Granted, he knew full well this had to happen at some point, considering what he knew about the two of them and their clear affection for each other, he just wasn’t expecting it to be so… overt. Right now. In front of his face. Traumatizing him.

When he got back home, he was going to kill his dad, full stop, for making him witness this.

The gods began to scuffle over Tripitaka again and Kaedo backed away, at a loss for what to do. None of his training had included this bizarre of a scenario. At least the gas had largely dispersed. Sandy suddenly blasted Tripitaka with some water and she blinked, glancing at Kaedo. He braced for another mentally scarring interaction but her eyes were much more focused than before.

“The water. It snaps you out of it,” she realized. Kaedo grinned, wilting with relief. She was back. Within a minute Kaedo had manipulated Sandy into curing each of them. They all stood around looking at each other, fidgeting awkwardly.

“We must never speak of this again,” Monkey said lowly. Kaedo didn’t bother to hide his grin. This was some quality ammunition for the future, that was certain.

Tripitaka wasn’t smiling. “The scrolls. Where are the scrolls?” Kaedo’s face fell. He probably should’ve been looking after those instead of staring at the macabre scene like an idiot. Without another word Tripitaka took off running, Kaedo keeping pace with her. He could hear the gods sprinting after them, but didn’t particularly care if they followed or not.

Within a minute Monkey’s long legs overtook Kaedo and Tripitaka’s shorter ones and he charged ahead, much to Kaedo’s annoyance. Monkey burst around a corner ahead of them and stopped.

“Stay back!” he yelled over his shoulder at Tripitaka. Kaedo peered around him. He saw the demon lying on the ground as an old man was binding her wrists together. He looked up at them, alarmed.

“She was coming at me with such speed,” he explained breathlessly. “I didn’t know what to do…” Kaedo frowned. How had a rickety old man like him taken down a demon like her? Tripitaka didn’t care, surgically focused as always on the scrolls and her quest.

“She has something of mine,” she said, her tone leaving no room for argument. The old man handed them over with a simpering smile and she shouldered them. Monkey reached out for Tripitaka to take the scrolls and she wordlessly jerked them away, refusing to look at him. Kaedo was careful to keep his face neutral in the presence of an unknown person, but on the inside he was smug.

Monkey cleared his throat, uncomfortable with Tripitaka’s reaction. “Thank you, old man. You have helped the Monkey King.” Kaedo could see he was puffing up at his own self-importance to try and soothe the wound to his pride Tripitaka had left him with.

The old man’s eyes widened. “The Monkey King?” His far too reverent tone gave Kaedo pause. “I have always wanted to create a puppet show about a legendary hero who crushes demons and saves humanity.” Kaedo rolled his eyes, not bothering to mask his scorn. Tripitaka was the one who would save humanity, not Monkey, and crushing demons wasn’t exactly something to brag about. Anyone could do it if they just tried hard enough. Sandy let out the tiniest of scoffs beside him and Pigsy sighed.

Monkey preened at the attention, but Tripitaka cut in, her voice flat. “Will this path lead us to the road?”

The old man nodded and enthusiastically invited himself along, Monkey strolling beside, clearly ready to tell his heavily revised story. “I was born from an egg on a mountaintop…”

Kaedo’s jaw clenched hard enough that he didn’t hear the rest of Monkey’s words, hands balling into fists. He glanced down and noticed another gas dispenser lying next to the still motionless demon, and grabbed it. He wasn’t going to pass up a free weapon, especially considering that was how he acquired most of his arsenal, anyway. When he caught up to Tripitaka, she glanced at Pigsy.

“You know, Monkey talking about his origins kind of raises the question where gods in general come from. The Scholar never spoke about that.” Sandy also gave Pigsy an interested look.

“He probably wasn’t ready to give you The Talk yet,” Kaedo snickered. Tripitaka shot him a mortified look.

“Kaedo!” she exclaimed, face flushing a bright red as she shoved at him.

“What?” he asked with an equal amount of confusion. He studied her, questions spiraling through his head. “The Scholar did… Tell you about that stuff, didn’t he?” Was he actually going to have to educate Tripitaka about…? He stopped the question dead in its tracks as nausea once again churned his stomach.

“We are _not_ discussing that particular topic right now, you dumb kids,” Pigsy sighed, prying them apart. “To answer your question, Tripitaka, it depends. The world deigns to create a god when it’s needed. We’re not really sure of the specifics. Some gods, like Sandy, are born as a human, to human parents, before they’re transformed into gods. Some gods are like Monkey and just… show up, although that’s rare. And some gods… used to be something else entirely before they are transformed.”

Kaedo idly wondered what category Pigsy fell in. “What about demons?” he asked instead.

“They’re odd in that they need one human parent. Doesn’t matter which one. Back in the day, demons had flings and relationships with humans all the time; it was way more common than you’d think. But ever since the demon takeover five hundred years ago, that sort of thing almost completely stopped. Humans were too afraid of their overlords. Which, now that I stop to think about it, casts their world domination and human subjugation plot in a rather unsettling light,” Pigsy said with a grimace. He glanced at Tripitaka, her face now a shade paler. “It’s either that or they start as something innocuous before being transformed into something else, but that almost never happens these days, probably because the world is so out of sorts with all the demons running amok without the gods to balance them out.”

“What about gods?” Kaedo asked.

Pigsy shook his head. “Gods don’t have kids. It just doesn’t happen.”

Kaedo frowned. “Not even like the demons, a god and a human?”

“Not possible,” Pigsy said flatly. “The population we got is what we got unless the world decides to churn out more gods. Okay, kid?”

Not particularly, but Pigsy sounded like he didn’t want to talk about it anymore. Now he had more questions than answers. To take his mind off of it, he pulled Sandy into another knife throwing contest, leaving lines of scarred trees in their wake. Once again Tripitaka scolded them, but seemed more concerned about the potential for Kaedo getting hurt rather than the trees. After he pulled the last knife out of the bark, he jogged to catch up with them, finding the three of them studying the old man suspiciously as Monkey happily continued bragging to him.

“His friends are puppets. Puppets!” Pigsy hissed.

Kaedo had a feeling he’d missed part of their conversation. “Why is the puppet guy still with us?” Kaedo realized that he didn’t know the old man’s name and at this point was too afraid to ask.

“There’s only one road in this valley, and we’re all going in the same direction!” Sandy explained with a smile. Kaedo didn’t smile. The old man was moving relatively slow, which he knew would annoy the much more energetic Monkey, and yet Monkey didn’t appear to mind the slower pace as long as he could keep talking about himself. Something was tickling the back of Kaedo’s mind. He felt like he should know something about the wheedling old man, but he couldn’t place what was wrong.

“We’ll part ways at the next crossroads we come to. Agreed?” The three agreed with Tripitaka as she glanced at each of them. Kaedo appreciated that Tripitaka was just as wary of the old man as he was, although he knew it was for different reasons than his own. He also appreciated her stepping into a proper leadership role, one that followed her instincts instead of the whims of her companions. He shot a venomous look at Monkey’s back.

Later in the evening when the group decided to stop for the night, Kaedo watched where the old man carefully placed his box of puppets and laid his bedroll and arranged his on the opposite side of camp. Sandy went off by herself as she normally did, and Pigsy was messing with some ingredients he’d found. Monkey was arranging the logs for the fire and let out a string of curses when the wood stubbornly refused to catch fire.

“Monkey!” Tripitaka scolded as she arranged her blankets near him. “No swearing in front of Kaedo! He’s too young for that language.”

Kaedo pursed his lips. She obviously hadn’t heard him when he’d yelled every curse in every language he knew after he’d stubbed his toe on a rock a day prior. Monkey shot her a disbelieving glance, flicking his gaze between her and Kaedo, who quickly went from disgruntled at being infantilized to smug.

“Yeah, Monkey, stop being such a bad influence on a child,” he sneered before muttering a fancy insult at him under his breath. Monkey’s eyes flew open at him and looked wildly at Tripitaka, who hadn’t heard as Pigsy gave Kaedo an odd look.

“Well that’s a word that’s fallen out of use. Haven’t heard that in a few centuries. Where did you learn it?” he asked.

Kaedo went still, glancing around. He finally pointed at Tripitaka. “See that Fangkris?” Pigsy nodded slowly, raising an eyebrow. “Family heirloom.”

“And your dear, sweet, innocent foul mouth?” Monkey griped, shooting Tripitaka a mutinous glare that went unseen.

“Also a family heirloom,” Kaedo smirked.

Monkey fumed and pointed an accusatory finger at Kaedo. “You are just… the worst.”

“Monkey…” Tripitaka let the threat hang in the air.

“Yeah, like I haven’t heard that before,” Kaedo snorted out of habit. “Wasn’t aware I was suddenly back home.”

Monkey jumped to his feet as Kaedo shot him a challenging look before Tripitaka yanked Monkey back down. “ _Enough_.” She sent Kaedo a stern look, but the edges of her gaze were softened by worry. Kaedo climbed to his feet and muttered he was going to go take a look around, stalking away before those looks turned into questions he didn’t want to answer. But, considering who Tripitaka was, she was probably going to extract answers from him one way or another. Without holding back, he hurled a knife into a tree hard enough to send fissures shivering up the trunk. He shouldn’t have let Monkey get to him; he wasn’t worth it. He shouldn’t have let those words slip out. Especially to Tripitaka. He snarled to himself and worked the knife out of the bark before sending it into another tree with another satisfying crack.

If his mom were here she’d probably ask what the trees personally did to him. She’d also be appalled that he was throwing knives around and ask where he’d gotten them, and he wouldn’t have the heart to tell her that it was all stolen. His gear, his weapons, even his shoes and clothes when he’d outgrown them in his time away from home. All of it stolen, except for his compass.

Kaedo paced around, feeling more trapped than ever. Now that he was away from Tripitaka and the gods, thoughts of home had screamed back into his mind. What used to be a balm was more of a cruel reminder of where he was and how long his road had been. He’d been so wrapped up in the concept of being a part of a group again, a family- no. This wasn’t _his_ family. They weren’t meant for him. His real family was so far away, unreachable, untouchable. This group wasn’t his, even if he’d pretended for it to be, a cruel reminder of what he was missing, what he hadn’t had in such a long time. His eyes burned, but he stubbornly refused to do something so stupid as to cry about it. He was done with that.

He took a deep breath. He had a job to do. They weren’t his family. They weren’t supposed to be.

Kaedo stared up at the moon and the surrounding blanket of stars, toying with the idea that his mom had seen the same sky before she’d gone to bed, maybe thinking of him. He brushed it off. Thoughts of her just ached now.

Maybe he should go back; he’d been gone for a while.

When he emerged from the trees, Tripitaka looked up and jumped to her feet and hurried over to him, the gods following her gaze. “There you are! I was getting worried!”

“I’m fine,” Kaedo mumbled, sitting down in front of the fire, hoping the light from the flames didn’t illuminate his embarrassment. She handed him a bowl of food and encouraged him to eat something. As he tucked in, Tripitaka nudged Monkey, who grumbled. She elbowed him harder.

Monkey cleared his throat. “Um, hey, kid.” Kaedo looked at him over the rim of the bowl and silently continued to eat. Monkey snuck a glance at Tripitaka, who was staring daggers at him before he twitched his shoulders and his face worked. “I’m sorry for upsetting you.”

“You didn’t upset me,” Kaedo grunted, wiping his mouth.

“But he clearly touched a nerve,” Tripitaka said, clearly exasperated with Monkey’s lack of skill in making amends. If she was waiting on him to get better at that she would be waiting for a very long time. “Which is kind of what I wanted to ask you about…” Monkey looked uncomfortable again, and Pigsy and Sandy were pretending not to listen. Kaedo tried not to sigh. Clearly they’d talked at length about him while he was gone.

Tripitaka chewed on her lip. “You talk a lot about your home life, and you don’t sound… happy.” Kaedo blinked, his body feeling taut as a bowstring. “Whenever you go home, are you going to be… alright?” she asked carefully after a brief hesitation. She must have seen his body shift because she instantly reached out for him. “It’s fine if you don’t want to talk about it right now, Kaedo. But just the way you talk about it…”

Was this really happening right now?

Kaedo glanced over to the old man, who was facing away from them on his bed roll, sound asleep. He turned back to Tripitaka, who silenced herself and waited. She didn’t need to be worrying about him; she got the wrong idea. Kaedo looked directly at her, feeling a half-formed smile touch his lips before it faded.

“I love my mom,” he told her seriously. “More than anything. And my parents have a great relationship and they’re good to me.” Kaedo noticed Monkey had stopped his awkward fidgeting and seemed to be actually paying attention. He nudged a branch on the fire. “My dad can just be… Difficult.”

“How?” Tripitaka asked, her voice soft.

“He’s the one that sent me away from home. He sent me to find you, to help you. Didn’t give me a choice about it, either.” Kaedo saw out of the corner of his eye Tripitaka and Monkey exchanging a puzzled look. “Not that I don’t want to be here or help you,” he amended quickly. He swallowed hard. “I know Dad cares about me and stuff, and he loves my mom. He always drilled into me to look after her.”

“Why? Shouldn’t it be the other way around?” Tripitaka asked quietly.

Kaedo stopped. He debated about what to tell her before deciding the truth couldn’t hurt. He shook his head, stubbornly ignoring her statement. “I always got the feeling he resented me, growing up. This whole thing feels almost like an elaborate punishment.”

“For what?” Monkey said with a frown.

Kaedo watched the coals change colors, an easy excuse to not look at any of them. “For how I almost killed my mom being born. It’s like he never got over it.”

“Oh, come on. That wasn’t your fault. Humans are fragile,” Monkey scoffed.

Tripitaka shot him an annoyed glance before looking back at Kaedo. “He is right,” she admitted. “It’s not your fault. What does your mom think about that? Surely she doesn’t hold a grudge?”

“She… doesn’t remember anything about that. It’s just one of those things we never talk about.” Kaedo shrugged. “And no, she doesn’t know what my dad thinks of me. It’s our best-kept secret.”

“I’m sorry, Kaedo. You don’t deserve that,” Tripitaka said quietly.

Monkey rolled his shoulders. “Want me to beat up your dad, knock some sense into him?”

Kaedo cracked a smile at him, and Monkey perked up. “Only after me.” He flicked an ember away from him. “Dad’s not exactly known for being rational, especially for people he cares about. Mom says he could hold onto a grudge forever.”

“He cares about you. I’m sure of it.” Tripitaka met the eyes of Sandy and Pigsy, who wordlessly started bedding down and getting comfortable. “Well, if you’re sure you’re alright…”

“I’m fine,” Kaedo interrupted as convincingly as he could.

“Then we should probably get some rest,” she continued. “We still have a long ways to go for the next scroll.” She smiled at him and headed for her bed, Monkey following to his. Kaedo remained where he was, not tired in the slightest. He watched as Monkey landed in a back flop on his blankets and was asleep almost instantly while Tripitaka curled up on her side, her back to him. He let himself be drawn into the flames, listening to the crackle of the burning wood and the wind rustling through the trees and Pigsy’s light snores. He sighed and went to his bed roll, staring up at the stars, trying to piece together what constellations he knew, watching the clouds and night drift by.

Even if he could sleep, he didn’t want to. Something about the old man didn’t sit well with him, even if he was asleep. Even if the old man was perfectly harmless, if not a little strange, he didn’t want to dream of home. He took out his compass and fiddled with it, staring at the needle that still pointed straight at Tripitaka, massaging his aching legs despite knowing it wouldn’t help. It was going to be one of those nights…

He heard movement and sat up straighter, putting the compass away before looking at the still-asleep old man.

Tripitaka sat down beside him. “It’s okay to sleep. We’re safe here,” she told him. Kaedo had to internally smile. The gods didn’t know how fortunate they were that she was their companion.

Kaedo waved her off. “I’ve never really needed to sleep much, even when I was little. I’m fine, really.” He didn’t want to tell her that he slept even less on average ever since he was sent away from home, another unintentional gift from his dad.

“Oh.” Tripitaka studied him, looking tired. “Your parents must’ve loved that when you were a baby,” she said with a playful smile, nudging him. Kaedo didn’t smile. Now that he thought about it, his dad had always been the one to stay up with him. He’d put Kaedo through his paces and relentlessly trained him away from his mom’s watchful eye, Kaedo realized, bitter resentment chasing off any semblance of goodwill towards his dad that he may have felt in the moment. Tripitaka was oblivious to his inner turmoil that he kept so carefully masked. Her face was soft and she absently swept his hair out of his face. Kaedo froze and turned to her to stare wide eyed, heart aching at the unexpected contact that was far too familiar. “Try to get some sleep, okay?”

Either the monk had a magic touch or the mere suggestion of sleep made his eyelids heavy and he nodded at her. She gave him one last kind smile and walked back to go lie down again. Kaedo had to smile as he watched her curl up in her familiar pose on her side, quickly going still as she easily fell asleep once again, if she hadn’t the first time. Kaedo glanced around the camp at everyone else, who were all asleep except for him and lay back on the pillow. He tried listening to his surroundings, and finding nothing out of the ordinary, forced his body to relax and allowed his eyes to shut.


	4. Chapter 4

_Kaedo sat on the edge of the pond, watching the ducklings paddle after their mother and listening to them making their little peeping noises, swishing his feet around in the water._

_“May I join you?”_

_“If you want.” Kaedo tried to not sound glum as he rolled his aching shoulders._

_His mother sat down next to him, and after a moment of thought she took off her own shoes and joined him. “What’s wrong, kiddo?”_

_Kaedo could tell she knew exactly what was wrong but wanted to hear it from him._

_“Dad’s mad at me again.” Granted, he probably deserved it. Sneaking out two days ago to take himself to the market and promptly getting into a fight with a mugger attacking an old lady hadn’t been the brightest of his decisions. “He made me train like a million times harder today. I think he’s more mad at me that the stupid jerk got a hit in than he is that I snuck out. Wasn’t even a demon, either,” Kaedo added under his breath._

_His mother pursed her lips and rolled up the bandage on his arm to look at the healing wound, studying the new, itching skin._

_“I wouldn’t put it past him, but I know that deep down you scared him.” She sighed, squeezing his hand. “I was worried too, you know. You’re not indestructible.”_

_“Despite all evidence to the contrary?” Kaedo asked cheekily._

_His mother massaged her forehead. “You are your father’s son. How about this: evidence so far suggests you’re indestructible, but my nerves are not. Got it?”_

_Kaedo winced at her tone. “Yes.” His eyes flicked to hers before going back to the ducks. He watched one of them nip at a wooden puppet floating in the water. “I’m sorry.”_

_“I’m not angry with you. I’m just afraid something bad is going to happen to you. So is your father. That’s why he trains you so hard, to prepare you. In fact…” She raised an eyebrow at him. “I’m the one who asked him to train you harder today.”_

_“What?” Kaedo whined._

_“Punishment for the crime,” she chuckled. “All of your abundant energy has to go somewhere. Did it ever occur to you that a nine year old boy isn’t supposed to be getting into fights with grown men?”_

_Kaedo shot her an askance look. “You guys always tell me that if I have the ability to help someone, I should.”_

_She sent a beseeching look up at the sky. “Be that as it may…” Her head rolled and looked back at him, unamused. “You make it really hard to be mad at you.”_

_“I dunno, Dad doesn’t seem to have any trouble,” Kaedo grumbled._

_She looked sad. “Your father loves you, Kaedo. His way of expressing it can be…”_

_“Stupid?” Kaedo supplied dully, splashing his feet in the pond._

_His mother sighed. “I don’t remember much from that time when you were born. So strange… Your father said everything was fine, so I don’t understand why I can’t remember it…” She paused, glancing at Kaedo. He kept his expression perfectly neutral, as he always did if the unfortunate subject came up. She went on, “But one of my very first memories with you two was soon after you were born, he carried you on his back or in a little sling in his arms and proudly paraded you around to every person that walked by, whether they cared to see you or not.” Kaedo’s nose wrinkled but allowed himself to smile at the thought._

_“One day, we were in a town and some merchant just wouldn’t let me leave quietly without buying anything. You and your dad strolled up and the man turns around to see you two giving him an identical death stare. I didn’t even know newborns were capable of desiring murder, but I saw it. I still get a kick out of that to this day.” She smiled. “You two are more alike than you think.”_

_Kaedo’s smile faded a little, but the last vestiges remained on his face. Perhaps his mom had a point. But he wasn’t about to voice his agreement where it could be heard and remembered._

_“Kaedo…” She met his eyes. “You were, and still are, his most precious creation. And you are mine.” Kaedo silently leaned against her shoulder and she caressed his hair. “You’ll have to cut us some slack. We’ve never been parents before. And we also don’t exactly have the best frame of reference for this sort of thing either.”_

_“_ You’re _doing just fine,” Kaedo muttered._

_“And thank you for saying that, sweetheart.” She focused on the water. “Your father takes looking after his people very seriously. Sometimes he puts aside open affection for duty.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Especially when the scrolls are missing.”_

_Kaedo blinked. “What scrolls?”_

_“I saw him creeping around,” she insisted._

_“Saw who?” Kaedo leaned away, heart hammering, the earth rumbling beneath him. “Tell me who, I’ll fix it, Mom.” She stood to her feet and backed away as Kaedo struggled to follow, the shaking earth making it difficult. “Mom?”_

\---

Kaedo jolted awake to see Sandy and Monkey staring down at him. Monkey smiled.

“Hello, Kaedo Zef. Where are the scrolls?”

“What?” Kaedo tried to blink away the remnants of the screwed up dream. He was definitely awake, wasn’t he? “I don’t have the scrolls?”

“He’s a liar,” Tripitaka said loudly. Kaedo unconsciously flinched at her tone. Someone was grouchy…

He looked up at Monkey, who now looked just as confused as Kaedo felt, staring down at him as if Kaedo was the one who could explain what was going on. Sandy, the loyal soldier that she was, waited for no such explanation and dragged him from his bed to roughly set him aside to rifle through his blankets. Kaedo eased himself to his feet, his nerves making him tense, coiling up tighter and tighter like a spring to either fight or flee. Monkey nudged a blanket aside with his foot. Kaedo frowned. Those were the scrolls… but why were they there?

“Oh? What are these?” He looked at Kaedo, who was surprised that the god didn’t look gleeful or even smug at his discovery. Monkey glanced at Tripitaka eagerly. “I knew he was up to no good!” Kaedo fought to not roll his eyes at him, instead turning to Tripitaka, knowing she wanted an explanation but coming up with nothing. He put on his most pleading look, silently asking for mercy for something he didn’t even do. 

She faced him stiffly, staring at him with haunting, unfamiliar eyes that felt like a pike to his soul. “I don’t keep company with traitors and thieves, Kaedo Zef. Leave now, and we’ll let you live.” Kaedo’s throat went dry and his heart froze over. In an instant he blanked his expressions, not trusting himself to say anything to her or give away his true hurt and fear. Any trace of the monk’s tender concern from last night had been completely erased, traded in for nothing less than actual malice, something that he didn’t believe someone like Tripitaka was capable of.

She was actually threatening Kaedo’s life.

That alone felt too much, too overwhelming of a rejection for him to process. More than anything he wanted to run, but he steeled himself to stay and seek answers. He looked at the others to gauge their reactions, his ears ringing and his stomach hollow. The old man stood on the fringes, looking more wide-eyed than usual but remained silent, his hands fidgeting. Sandy stared back at Kaedo, ready to carry out the monk’s orders in an instant, perfectly willing to accept her preconceptions about Kaedo were incorrect based upon her stubborn belief that Tripitaka knew best, perfectly willing to cast aside any friendship she’d cultivated with him to kill him. Kaedo tried not to feel stung even if he appreciated her dedication. Monkey behind her looked taken aback and unsure at Tripitaka’s declaration, but said nothing. Pigsy was openly suspicious but was clearly going to go along with what everyone else was going to do.

He stared back at Tripitaka, daring himself to peer into those chilling eyes, looking for a spark of understanding, warmth, compassion, or even at this point recognition, anything that made her _her_ aside from appearance alone, but found nothing. Kaedo’s jaw set. He let his ruthless pragmatism wrench control from his emotions before they made him implode.

He couldn’t do his job if he was dead. He gained nothing if he stayed for his own execution. For now he had to disappear. Without a word he turned and calmly fled, letting himself disappear into the trees.

\---

Kaedo made his way towards the Scroll of Creation through the forest, ducking under branches and hopping over fallen logs, feeling more at home alone in the trees than he had on the road surrounded by friends turned enemies. He shouldn’t have gotten so attached. Stupid, painful tears threaten to spill over from his eyes but he glared and kept moving, refusing to let them become a reality. He’d meet up with them again, maybe catch Pigsy alone and explain it to him since he was the reasonable one. He just needed a day, and his compass would-

Tripitaka would throw away the tracking stone, he realized, swallowing hard.

Kaedo heaved a sigh. Those stones were a pain to acquire. He was going to have to track them the old fashioned way. Or, he could keep going, maybe cut them off at a crossroads and tail the group from there. It wasn’t like it would be hard even if he somehow missed them, considering how much attention the group tended to attract. Kaedo figured if he maintained his speed, he could easily outrun the group’s slower pace set by the old man. That was what he needed, a goal to focus on. It was easy to slip back into habits formed from being on the road. Next bounty, next place to sleep, next meal, next step, next breath and on and on, all to not dwell on his crushing homesickness.

When he reached the crossroads, he sat out of sight, waiting. The only thing he could do right now was wait. There wasn’t a need to think about anything else. No need to think about how many days he’d been away from home. No need to think about his mother’s warm smile that chased away all his fears. No need to think about when or if or how he’d be able to go home.

He fumbled with his pouch and pulled out the compass, absently running his fingers along the sides as he fought to quiet his deafening breaths. Surely Tripitaka’s group would hear him wherever they were, considering how loud they were. He closed his eyes and centered himself, until all he could hear was the muffled ticking and whirring of the compass. He stopped and opened his hand to stare at it, mystified. The compass was still reacting to the stone. Tripitaka was definitely on the move, so she still had the stone on her. Had she simply forgotten it? No… she wouldn’t forget that sort of thing, she was too smart for that.

Unless… she didn’t know she still had it.

Or rather, the one controlling her didn’t know she was in possession of such an item.

Kaedo shut his eyes, heart thudding in time as each piece clicked into place. Puppets. Controlling people. The convenient timing of his arrival. The timing in general.

_Hagfish._

He’d been thrown off by the elderly appearance; to his knowledge demons almost never showed their age. Kaedo snarled to himself under his breath. He should’ve known. Although if he was being fair to himself, he doubted that the four of them would’ve believed him. His hands clenched around the handle of a knife, wanting dearly to bury it right into that simpering skull, but knowing his next job was to separate Tripitaka from the demon filth controlling her.

His ears perked up at the faint sound of voices down the road. He probably wouldn’t have to wait long. He waited, his body tense, easing himself into a crouch. Not long after, four figures came into view. Kaedo frowned, not seeing Pigsy anywhere. Well so much for that idea. Monkey and Sandy were behind Hagfish and Tripitaka, staring at them and muttering to themselves. Kaedo was surprised they’d had the sense to catch on that something just might be amiss with their friend.

He watched as Monkey lightly snatched one of the scrolls from Tripitaka’s hands and asked her something. Kaedo stopped trying to eavesdrop and instead leaned forward, squinting. It was hard to tell, but something was on the back of Tripitaka’s neck. How had the gods not noticed? Kaedo frowned. Given what he knew about Hagfish, he needed a pin, didn’t he? And if he were Hagfish, he’d probably make sure to walk directly behind his subject so no one would see it.

Hagfish slowly turned, and Kaedo froze as they locked eyes.

“It’s Kaedo!” Tripitaka snarled. “He wants the scrolls. Catch him!”

Great. Plan B, then.

He whirled around and sprinted back into the trees, the two gods in hot pursuit. Kaedo knew he couldn’t outrun their annoyingly long legs even with his head start, especially if Sandy decided to switch on her super speed, but he could outmaneuver them. All he needed was a few moments and he could save her. He took a harsh turn and doubled back, flying through the forest back to the monk.

Tripitaka screamed, and Kaedo nearly staggered at the sound of her haunting, agonized cry. He burst back onto the main road and watched her collapse limply to the ground, the demon grinning as he twisted her puppet avatar in his gnarled hands. Kaedo’s face twisted as he hurled a knife, hand shaking as his mind replayed that horrid sound, throwing off his aim.

Hagfish hissed in pain as the blade sliced his leg. “Oh the unfathomable pain!” Hagfish said with a sneer as his glanced at his light injury.

“Get used to it, because there’s more where that came from,” Kaedo spat. He reached for another knife, preparing to actually hit him properly this time. Hagfish lunged at him and Kaedo ducked under his arms, planting a kick in Hagfish’s side and sending him sprawling.

“Please! I’m just an old man!” the demon whimpered, holding his hands up.

Kaedo stared down at him. “And I’m just a snotty-nosed kid.”

Hagfish paused, scrutinizing him before his expression switched from confused to fear to survival mode. His fingers flexed into claws.

Kaedo whirled and on reflex parried Tripitaka’s kick with enough force to send her spinning back to the ground in a heap. He cringed. Too much. Way too much force. She stared up at him, a thousand microexpressions flicking across her face.

“Tripitaka, I’m not your enemy,” Kaedo said warily.

“I’m sorry,” she said, her eyes now wide and scared. The rest of her words fell away as Kaedo’s heart softened at her look. Gone was her cold, eyes and murderous intent. She held up a hand, and Kaedo paused, daring to hope she was back to her normal self. She was strong, she broke loose of the puppet master’s hold on her; she was clearly different. Her puppet was destroyed, anyway. A demon couldn’t replicate her kind eyes that drew him in and made him feel, for just a brief second, he was home again. He grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet with a relieved smile.

The slice to his side came out of nowhere.

“Fangkris poison,” Tripitaka hissed in his ear. Kaedo let out a groan as the frost fire of the poison spread up his body as his blood dripped down his side. “I win, little boy.” She gave him a smug look, alien to her features. “I always win.”

A thousand scenarios blinked through Kaedo’s mind over his next move. He needed to go. Now. But not before he freed her. “Not for long,” he rasped, clumsily ripping out the pin buried in the back of Tripitaka’s neck before his knees buckled. He could vaguely feel arms around him and the earth beneath him that did nothing to stop him from shaking, sweat already beading on his brow. He couldn’t be here. She couldn’t see him like this.

He tried to breathe deep and stopped as his gash sharply protested, opting for shallow breaths that did nothing to help him. He tried to tune out the poison shredding every vein it touched as his heart thudded heavier and heavier, each beat a concussion. All the noise surrounding him matched and blurred into the roars inside his pounding head, the thuds and shouts making it unbearably worse. The arms around him withdrew and he moaned as his head rolled uncomfortably onto the ground. He groped for one of his pouches and managed to roughly bat the metallic orb inside onto the ground where hopefully someone would see it.

His eyes pried open to a stabbing amount of sunlight and he screwed them to slits as he watched Tripitaka pick up the orb and examine it.

Tripitaka was free. That’s all that mattered.

He saw his chance and rolled onto his side and crawled away from the noise. Tripitaka didn’t need to see this. He blinked, his vision hazy and his mind even foggier as he started to get the picture that his body was shutting down. Still, he pulled himself to his feet and staggered away, hands thrown out to fumble for what little balance he could. He had to get away. Once again bile rose in his throat as his mouth filled with saliva before his stomach expelled what little he had left in it, leaving him grabbing a tree for support as his side shrieked in fresh pain.

His head throbbed, louder and deeper until his vision started to gray out. He clawed at his goggles so tightly constricting his head that was threatening to burst and flung them away, moaning when that didn’t bring any relief as he forced his stony legs to move, watching blood spots follow him as it dripped from his side.

Tripitaka had survived being poisoned. He could too. But what had she felt? Had she been this scared as she felt her legs buckle beneath her? As she felt her shallow pants turn into ragged, empty gasps? Had she thought she would never be warm again? At the very least, Tripitaka wouldn’t see him like this the way her friends had surrounded her for her ordeal. He was alone. And that was okay. The gods could protect her in his place.

Kaedo thudded to the ground as his legs stopped working. As the gray tunnel darkened into a grainy black, he tried to summon thoughts of home through the murky darkness of his mind.

He let out an involuntary whimper, his voice croaking out a single sound before the darkness closed in.

“Mom…”

\---

At least he wasn’t in pain anymore.

Time wasn’t a factor in this hazy void that Kaedo was lying in, if he was lying down at all. A cool hand gently swept his hair from his forehead and he let out a questioning mumble.

“Hey, kiddo.”

Kaedo’s entire being relaxed at the sound of her voice as he worked to find his own. “How am I doing?”

“…Not great. But you’re going to live.” Kaedo appreciated her confidence. “Who knows, you might actually get a scar this time.”

“So I’m not dead?”

“No.” There was a pause. “You better not be.”

Kaedo tried to sit up, but a tender pressure on his chest was keeping him where he was. “I need to get back there… I need-”

“What you need is time to heal. Just rest for now.” There was a caress to his hand before a kiss was pressed to his forehead. “She’ll be fine.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Kaedo sighed, drifting off again.

\---

“Come on. Get up. You’ve got things to do.” Kaedo groaned and turned away from the grating voice. “…Don’t you dare ignore me.”

“You’re not really here,” Kaedo grumbled.

“Well, neither was your mother, but that’s a moot point. I’m here now, and I say you’ve still got work to do.”

“I’m kind of trying to not die here; come back later.”

“You’re not going to die.” Kaedo could practically hear the eye roll. “The faster you get a move on, the faster you come home.”

“How do you know that?” Kaedo asked tiredly.

“I’m the one who sent you here.”

“Yeah, and thanks for that.”

“…I don’t recall you resenting me this much before you left.”

Kaedo sat up. “Yeah, well, you always resented me. You hated me from the moment I was born, for how I almost killed Mom,” Kaedo spat.

“Oh come on. That wasn’t your fault and you know it,” his dad replied, voice deadly serious. “In my defense, the circumstances of your birth were rather… weird.”

“That’s still not a good excuse for hating a newborn,” Kaedo muttered.

“You tried to _claw_ your way out of her. Can you blame a new father for being just a _little_ freaked out?” The two were silent before he spoke up again, much quieter. “We didn’t even think you would be possible.”

“Not my problem,” Kaedo said, voice brittle.

His dad sighed. “I never hated you, son. You’ve been alone in that head of yours too long, telling yourself that.”

“Yeah, I was alone. For more than a year. And whose fault was that?” Kaedo growled. “You’re the one that sent me here! Sent me away from home, away from Mom!”

“You don’t have a home to go back to if Tripitaka’s quest fails, if she dies. That’s why I sent _you_. Because I knew you could handle this.”

Kaedo’s jaw set. “And what exactly did you think a kid like me could handle?” He thought of those many sleepless nights on the road, cold and hungry, and those countless days filled with fighting off wild animals and humans and monsters and demons.

“You’re more than capable of great things and handling even greater hardship, Kaedo. What I needed you to do was to save our world, and you’re not done yet.”

“I want Mom back. Just go away,” Kaedo said bitterly.

“I’m sorry it had to be you. Maybe, in time, you’ll be able to forgive me. If you’ll recall, my last words to you before I sent you away, were ‘I love you.’ And I meant it.” Kaedo scoffed. “Lie to yourself all you want if that’s what keeps you going. But deep down, you know the truth. You remember.”

\---

_Kaedo walked into the study to find his dad muttering over a scroll._

_“What’s wrong, Dad?”_

_His dad straightened and rolled up the parchment. “Nothing. But I can’t make heads or tails of this stupid thing. Could you take it to your mother, please? She’s in the archives.” Kaedo smiled and nodded, grabbing the scroll and darting out the door._

_“Hey.” Kaedo stopped and looked back. “Before you go, remember-”_

_“Watch over Mom.” Kaedo’s reply was a ritual at this point, driven into him almost as soon as he could speak. “I know.”_

_“I know you do, son. I’ll see you soon.” Kaedo spun and started to walk away before his dad called out again. “And Kaedo?”_

_Kaedo jumped around, trying to mask his playful smile with an exasperated eye roll. “What now?”_

_His dad searched his face. “I love you.”_

_“Yeah, I know. Love you too, Dad.”_

_Kaedo skipped down the path, hopping on each stone paver along the way and examining his new tracking compass until he reached the archive of scrolls his mother maintained. “Mom?” he called at the threshold._

_“In here, Kaedo!”_


	5. Chapter 5

The first thing he was properly aware of was how dry his mouth was. Then he noticed how uncomfortable his skull was, the thing supporting it hard and unyielding. He heard quiet footsteps and mutterings surrounding him as he ran down an inventory of his limbs and how he was feeling.

Still rather bad, if he was honest with himself.

Something brushed by his head. “Soon it will be time for harvesting.”

Harvesters. He’d heard of them. Well, he may not be feeling at full strength, but it was enough to take down a group of them. He swallowed, keeping his eyes closed.

“I have some last words.” Each syllable clawed its way out of his throat, rasping painfully through the air.

“Oh? He has some last words?” one said with interest.

The other huffed. “I hate it when they beg…”

“I bet he cries for his mother,” the first sneered. He leaned close enough for Kaedo to hear his breath. “Come now. Speak up and then die, kid.”

Kaedo let his eyes open just a fraction to spot some shears poking out of the Harvester’s pocket before lifting them out and cutting his bonds.

His knee exploded upwards and caught the Harvester in the temple, knocking him to the forest floor. Two more sprinted towards Kaedo. He hurled the stolen shears and took down one before he slid and knocked the legs out from the second, more Harvesters arriving and falling in a flurry of limbs.

Kaedo smiled at the sight of his goggles lying on the ground not too far from him and gathered them up along with some other personal effects. It was good to be back. He could go find Tripitaka again and pick up where he left off.

An array of spears and curved blades blocked his path. Well that plan might have to be tabled for now…

A woman in red armor stepped out, looking him up and down and smiling, drawing her sword. “Where is the Monkey King?”

Kaedo guessed she was another big name demon. Hagfish probably would’ve sent a description to his fellow generals, so he couldn’t play it cute. “Hell if I know,” Kaedo replied instead.

She didn’t look pleased with his answer. She leveled her sword at him. “Who are you? How have you come here after you were seen with the Monkey King?”

“Kaedo Zef. I’m a bounty hunter.” Kaedo stared at her. “Your friend Hagfish attacked us and I got separated. He would know.”

She scoffed. “Hagfish is not my friend.” She appraised him, just now noticing the fallen Harvesters over his shoulder, her interest piqued. “How is it a bounty hunter of your caliber travels with the Monkey King?”

Kaedo tried not to sigh. “Because he has a bounty on him. It’s in the name of what I do, you see.”

The demon let out a small noise and put away her blade. “You have quite the… killer reputation, little boy.”

Kaedo didn’t relax. “Gods, humans, demons, doesn’t matter if the money is good. Why? Any of my marks friends of yours?”

“If they died by your hand, then they deserved it,” she said nonchalantly. “Who is paying you for the bounty on the Monkey King?”

“The rebellion group. They contacted me and I accepted the contract.”

“How much?”

“Surprisingly a lot,” he said honestly.

She gave him another look, one that reminded him uncomfortably of Hagfish assessing him. “You will no longer be working for the rebellion scum. Now you will serve in my army as a freelancer, Kaedo Zef.” She turned and walked away, leaving no room for argument. Kaedo sighed. He had a feeling he had a long day of marching ahead of him.

\---

Kaedo was relieved that he had been treated rather well. General Khan respected his strength and so did the soldiers. Despite the soldiers all being demons, none of them ever bothered him; some attempted to make conversation or curry favor with him by giving him extra food (which he always accepted) or offering him a more comfortable spot by the fires. Some even averted their eyes whenever Kaedo walked by them. Some demons, however, were brave enough to try and engaging him in training matches with him during their brief rests on the road. Kaedo was more than happy to indulge them and throw them around. He had a feeling that Khan set up those matches for her personal amusement.

When they finally stopped one afternoon, Kaedo got the feeling they were here to stay for a while. Rumors filtered down through the ranks from the front of the Red Guard that the Blue Hand, General Dreglon’s army, was challenging Khan’s authority. Kaedo had a feeling that wouldn’t end well for Dreglon. Not that it mattered. Any infighting among the demons’ ranks was just an opportunity for him to give them the slip and get back to the road.

He surreptitiously checked his compass for the first time in days, eyes widening a fraction when its gentle hum indicated Tripitaka wasn’t too far away. He shut it with a click and pocketed it, now determined to find her before an opportunity to make a run for it presented itself. Maybe he could ask around; lower ranking demons had a mind for gossip, although he doubted Tripitaka had been captured. The buzz in the camp would be a lot different if that were the case.

General Khan stalked up and stabbed a finger at him. “Dreglon seems to be under the impression that his pathetic army of human conscripts is somehow superior to my Red Guard.”

Kaedo’s eyes flicked to her guards, Ilgrath and Murk, who both gave him the tiniest of shrugs. “What makes you think I’m not a human?” he asked instead.

She gave him a condescending smile. “Tonight, you will be my gladiator and slay his worthless human champion.”

“Looking forward to it,” Kaedo grunted, standing up and stretching. If he made good use of his time and all went well, he might be able to be out of here before nightfall. “I’ll be here.”

“Yes, you will,” she said. Kaedo got a prickle of unease at her matter of fact tone. “I’ve seen you looking around trying to slip away.”

“Uh, I was born on the road. I’ve got chronic wanderlust,” he said with a sheepish shrug.

With a jerk of her head, Khan signaled her two guards to move forward and to seize him by the arms to carry him towards a large, sturdy-looking wooden box with bars on the doors. Kaedo shot a bewildered look up at Ilgrath, who muttered a quiet apology.

“W-wait, can I at least go to the bathroom first-?” The door slammed shut behind him. “Guess not,” Kaedo muttered, kicking the door.

“Sorry, buddy,” Murk whispered before his footsteps vanished.

Kaedo sighed. Might as well get comfortable.

\---

_“In here, Kaedo!” she called, her voice echoing through the shelves of thousands of scrolls. He followed the sound of her voice easily and bounced up to her. Upon seeing him, she shook her head in disbelief, but her kind eyes and loving smile made his heart soar. “By the gods, do you grow fast.” She ruffled his hair. “Soon I’ll be the one looking up at you.” Kaedo grinned and wrapped his arms around her as she kissed the top of his head._

_“Dad said to give this to you,” Kaedo said, holding out the scroll._

_She looked at it and nodded. “We’ll find its home together. Did you want to come with me?” Kaedo nodded, taking her hand, holding the scroll in the other. “So, what’s it like being a year older?” she asked him, tidying a stack of scrolls. “Feel any different?”_

_Kaedo giggled and said no, although his hand holding the scroll started to grow a bit warmer. He frowned at it, and let himself be pulled along by his mother._

_“Well, we’ve got a nice place in mind tomorrow. You don’t mind a bit of travel, do you?” Kaedo shook his head vigorously. “Of course not. You were born on the road, after all. Born restless.”_

_“Hey, Mom?” Kaedo stopped and looked at the scroll in his hand. It was now hot enough to be painful to hold, shimmering in the light. “What would you say if one of these scrolls suddenly got hot?”_

_She straightened a scroll and kept walking. “I’d say… that some of these scrolls in here have a will of their own and to not touch things you don’t understand.”_

_Something didn’t feel right. He glanced down and saw his arms were becoming transparent. “…Mom?”_

_She whipped around and upon seeing him, gasped and dropped her armful of scrolls and ran to him. “Kaedo!” she screamed, hurling herself at him but passing right through. “No!_ Kaedo _!”_

_“Mom!”_

_Kaedo landed heavily on his hands and knees in a forest wreathed in a fading twilight. Panting, he looked around, his ears ringing, his heart racing. He looked around shakily. “Mom? …Dad?”_

\---

Something knocked on the door of Kaedo’s tiny cell, the vibrations traveling through his body startling him awake with a gasp, tears stinging his eyes as he remembered where he was.

“We’re moving. Get ready for the fight.”

Kaedo wanted to snap at him that the narrow confines of the box didn’t allow him to stretch first, but the entire box shifted so that he had a terrifying moment of instability. The box rolled on the ground and lay nearly flat. He could hear the cheers of a crowd increasing in volume until he could pick out a masculine voice announcing his arrival.

Murk knocked on the box. “Put on a show, yeah?”

Kaedo sighed. He hadn’t been told he’d need to be an entertaining gladiator. “What did you want me to do? I’m in a box,” he groused.

“I don’t know, rattle the door? Let out a guttural roar? Think of something,” he hissed.

“And in the red corner, the Slaughterer of Harvesters!”

Kaedo rolled his eyes. Well, his mother didn’t raise a quitter. He kicked the door with enough force to make the entire box shudder.

“The Ghost in the Dark! The Blinder of Demons!” Kaedo grimaced at that memory. “The Hunter of the Damned!” He half-heartedly shoved at the door with one hand, scratching at his nose with the other and stifling a yawn. “The unbeaten, unstoppable, ferocious pride of the Red Guard! The most fearsome warrior to _ever_ stomp the earth!”

Kaedo heard a bar slide across the door. He hesitated. Was that his cue…? Murk lightly kicked the back of the box, and Kaedo hastily shoved the doors open.

“Kaedo Zef!”

He walked out into the arena, blinking at the ring of firelight, surrounded by deafening cheers. He grinned and raised an arm to address the crowd, who cheered louder. He glanced across the arena to size up his opponent.

Monkey.

Oh, this was _beyond_ perfect. He grinned wider, and then his eyes widened when he saw Tripitaka sitting behind him, staring at Kaedo in pure bewilderment and dismay but also relief. He fumbled with his mask so she didn’t have to see his face. She leaned over to Monkey and whispered something to him, her eyes urgent. Monkey pursed his lips and prowled forward. Kaedo rolled his shoulders, staring at him, hungry to start kicking his teeth in.

“And now, until one of the damned should breathe no more…” the announcer called.

Kaedo couldn’t help but grin. “This should be fun,” he sneered at Monkey, who looked rather stumped, trying to size him up and plan his next move. It seemed rather obvious that he was disguising himself as a human, so Tripitaka had probably told him to restrain himself and fight as a human. His loss.

“Fight!” Dreglon bellowed.

Monkey and Kaedo crept forward, both staying light on their feet in a mirrored stance. “Okay kid. Here’s what we’re going to do,” Monkey whispered, glancing around. Kaedo ignored him and delivered a non-refundable roundhouse kick to his jaw. He smirked as Monkey gave him an annoyed glance. He had packed enough force behind it that it would’ve broken if Monkey hadn’t been a god.

“I’ve been wanting to fight you since… Well, before we even met,” Kaedo informed him lightly, not bothering to hide his disdain.

Monkey scoffed. “Look, kid, there are things that you-” Kaedo cut him off with a quick punch. He glanced at Tripitaka before scowling at Kaedo. Kaedo’s eyes narrowed with glee before he moved in to attack in earnest. Monkey parried his blows, unable to break through Kaedo’s guard. He feinted a strike before landing yet another kick to Monkey’s smug face.

“What are you doing?” Monkey hissed.

“Winning,” Kaedo replied, cracking a grin behind his mask. “If I’m honest, this has been rather therapeutic.”

“You’ve got some serious issues,” Monkey bristled, grabbing Kaedo and throwing his entire body across the arena. Kaedo rolled to his feet. It was pretty easy to tell that Monkey was frustrated that Kaedo was dodging and countering his moves with almost zero effort, which pleased Kaedo to no end. Monkey, from his moves to emotional responses, was predictable to a fault.

“Okay, I get it,” Kaedo grunted as he climbed to his feet. Monkey was unwilling to back down, either for the sake of his pride or his irritation at Kaedo’s ability to so easily hold his own against him.

That was fine by him.

Kaedo went on the offensive, landing several strikes, letting the rest of the world fade away as he attacked. Monkey was clearly freaking out because Kaedo was dodging his attacks almost before Monkey made them. He threw out another kick to send Monkey sprawling at Tripitaka’s feet. Kaedo gloated down at him as Tripitaka grabbed Monkey’s shoulder.

“Stay down!” she hissed to him. “Stay. Down.”

“Yeah, Monkey, stay down,” Kaedo jeered, feeling a jolt of superiority as Tripitaka once again took his side.

Monkey jumped to his feet, face contorted with anger. “Not until I wipe that smirk off your little face,” he growled. Tripitaka looked scared as Monkey leaped up to deliver a powerful blow that Kaedo batted away. He snarled and increased the force of his strikes until he managed to land a hammer strike to Kaedo’s back. He landed heavily on the ground and sucked in a breath.

“Okay. Now we’re even,” Monkey snorted.

Not even close.

Kaedo’s hands grabbed a fistful of earth and he flung it straight into Monkey’s eyes, springing up and punching Monkey’s back as if he were a training bag, a feral yell of pent-up rage escaping his throat. He ducked a haymaker and drove yet another kick into Monkey’s side, sending him once again back to Tripitaka’s feet. Kaedo snarled and paced around the arena, daring Monkey to stand up again. He could do this all day.

Monkey paused and looked up at Tripitaka, who gave him a concerned look. Kaedo growled. Monkey didn’t deserve her pity. He didn’t deserve her at all.

Monkey sprang up, eyes going from shocked and furious to serious, ready to throw away any pretense of being a human for the sake of a grudge. Kaedo had a brief moment of uncertainty. He couldn’t kill him, as much as he wanted to… but he did have to defend himself. Didn’t he? Should he? Kaedo swallowed a lump in his throat.

Monkey’s face twisted in pain and he hesitated, Kaedo taking the moment to strike. Monkey didn’t retaliate, groaning. Kaedo paused, puzzled, and glanced at Tripitaka. She had two fingers to her lips and was quietly chanting under her breath as Monkey curled into a ball, whimpering in agony. She’d made the choice for them and intervened. Kaedo figured he should return the favor and raised his fist to declare the fight over, hoping that everyone would forget that it was supposed to be a fight to the death.

The crowd didn’t seem to mind, exploding into cheers, sweeping around him and offering congratulations over his victory. He found Tripitaka in the crowd, silently promising her to find her later. She nodded to him, hauling Monkey to his feet as Khan demanded that Monkey be her personal servant. Kaedo silently vanished into the crowd, waiting for Tripitaka to follow.

A few minutes later she walked in between the tents where he was waiting and she rushed forward, falling to her knees beside him to pull Kaedo into her arms with a muffled sob. For a brief second Kaedo’s muscles tensed before he melted into the hug with a contented sigh, wrapping his arms around her in a gentle crush, reluctantly letting go when she did. She looked him up and down.

“You’re alive,” she whispered. Kaedo frowned and took her bandaged hand, examining the scab.

“When did this happen?” he asked.

She blinked, puzzled. “Long story,” she replied, still breathless. Her hand ghosted to where she had injured Kaedo, who realized the fabric of his shirt was still torn and stained with old blood, and she looked back at him. “I’m so sorry for hurting you. I thought-” Her voice choked off. “I thought I’d killed you.”

Kaedo shook his head. “You weren’t yourself. It wasn’t your fault, Tripitaka.”

“How are you alive?” she asked, pulling at his shirt to look at the wound she thought was there. Kaedo grit his teeth and shifted away from her. She couldn’t see it, or there would be more questions. She looked at him, face wrought with anxiety. “Does it hurt? Monkey didn’t hit it, did he?”

“I’m fine,” Kaedo insisted. “You didn’t even get me that bad; it was shallow.”

She looked at him, wide-eyed. “No, it was deep, I saw it… It was bleeding really badly…”

Kaedo shrugged, fumbling. “Ever gotten a wound there? They bleed a lot, even the minor ones.”

“I haven’t, but those injuries don’t work that way. But it _was_ deep. I remember… how it felt.”

Several choice curses echoed in Kaedo’s mind that she wasn’t going to be easily convinced. “I bleed really easily. My secret is I don’t get hurt.”

“Monkey punched you and you don’t have a mark to show for it,” Tripitaka said flatly. “Why are you lying?”

Kaedo’s back straightened, and he tried to hide it by rolling his eyes and scoffing. “If you must know, it’s how a Fangkris’ venom works. They’ve got special properties, being made from dragon fangs. If they weren’t so toxic and rare, people might have been able to use them as a cure-all for wound healing. But no one’s figured out how to do it.” He gave her a glance, trying to see if she bought it, although he was rather pleased with himself he had come up with that on the fly. “I wouldn’t recommend scratching yourself with it to fix a stab wound.”

She still looked unconvinced, and he shrugged. “I’m here now.”

“You are,” she said, pulling him into another desperate hug. “That’s all that really matters.”

Kaedo heard footsteps and he stood up.

Khan’s valet nodded to him, standing ramrod straight. “General Khan bid me to relay that, in recognition of your victory, to feel free to take the night off. In the morning, she has a special job for you. You will report to me before dawn.”

“Great. Thanks,” Kaedo said, trying to mask his unenthused tone. He held a hand to Tripitaka. “Shall we go eat some military gruel?”

She accepted and dusted herself off. “If there’s any left. The demons always eat before the humans, and Pigsy’s cooking is so good that they always go back for more. He says the secret ingredient is love.”

“Hm. I doubt Khan’s previous cook did that,” Kaedo mused as they walked back.

“That’s why he got thrown off a cliff,” Tripitaka said with a shudder.

Kaedo led the way back to Sandy’s station (apparently she was going under the alias Lady Wrathbone) where Pigsy was working as her cook slave. The four of them sat close enough that they could catch each other up on what had happened without risking being overheard by anyone. Tripitaka told him about what had happened right after Kaedo had been poisoned and how they found their way Mycelia’s garden and what had happened in the false paradise. Kaedo didn’t know that Mycelia had such a place, and leaned forward to listen.

Sandy said she got a chance to relax and be creative with no worries. Pigsy had the opportunity to indulge his interests and take charge of what he wanted, even if it meant saying no to someone else’s wishes. Tripitaka got validation from a mother figure that she never had and to be a normal teenage girl. Kaedo felt a pang of empathy. He never would get that chance to be a normal kid, either. His family and who he was didn’t give him that luxury.

Monkey had, unsurprisingly, desired a fan club who universally worshipped him. Kaedo couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

“I think it was more than that,” Tripitaka said, suddenly defensive. “He’s not that shallow.”

“Is he not?” Kaedo asked dryly. He idly wondered what the false paradise would have shown him. Would being shown what he truly wanted be enough to distract him from his current goal, to trick him into lassitude?

“Well…” She paused as Pigsy and Sandy snickered. “He’s been saying he wants people to know his real story. Maybe he wanted to be heard without any bias towards him, not necessarily to be loved.”

“You’re giving him way too much credit,” Pigsy grumbled as Kaedo dismissed the notion.

“So what happened after that?” Kaedo asked.

“I broke the spell,” Sandy said happily. Her smile faded a little. “Even if it was hard to see Tripitaka go from content to burdened all over again.” Kaedo nodded. “Then we fought off a bunch of mushroom people, Tripitaka got a fake Scroll of Creation, and now we’re trying to be rid of it.” She paused. “It’s not working.”

“How do you know it’s fake?” Kaedo asked, holding out his bowl for yet another portion.

“It cut my hand when I asked it for a way to free itself,” Tripitaka said. “Later Monkey told me to make new boots and they hurt my feet.” She grimaced, and Kaedo felt a ripple of anger at Monkey that he’d hurt her with his arrogance. Thankfully Monkey was off being Khan’s personal servant, so he was getting what he deserved. “It does what you ask of it…”

“But it gives you attitude about it,” Pigsy finished. He nodded to Tripitaka. “How are your feet doing, anyway?”

She shrugged. “Not as bad as yesterday.”

He nodded and bustled around before giving her a little vial. “Poultice I whipped up in my abundant spare time,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Should help clear it all up.” She smiled and pocketed the vial.

“Mycelia may have caused us a lot of trouble, but I’ll admit, if it wasn’t for her, Pigsy…” Tripitaka said quietly, not wanting to finish her sentence.

“If I wasn’t a god, I wouldn’t have survived at all,” Pigsy said tartly. “Don’t go falling all over yourself thanking her for just speeding up my own abilities.”

“Sorry,” Tripitaka said, stifling a yawn. Kaedo said nothing, opting to just stuff his face.

Sandy glanced around. “Pigsy and I have our tent to sleep in, but it won’t go unnoticed if you stay in it…”

“It’s fine. I’ll stay with her,” Kaedo said. Sandy shot him a grateful look. “We might have to change plans depending on what Khan has in store for me tomorrow…”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” Tripitaka decided. She stood up. “Come on. I want to find a good place to sleep before they’re all taken. I bet you’re tired.”

Kaedo opened his mouth to remind her he never needed as much sleep as she did, but pressed on a smile and followed her, both of them wishing Sandy and Pigsy a good night. Kaedo rounded up a few blankets from some demons who happily surrendered them to him (it’s not like they truly needed them anyway since a lot of them slept standing up) and followed Tripitaka where she picked out a quieter place in camp to bed down nearby some other conscripts that were already sleeping off their ale. As she rearranged her blankets and found the cleanest side of the pillow, Kaedo sat on his own blankets, massaging his calves that were once again aching. She stopped and looked at him with worry.

“Did Monkey hurt you?” Her voice was quiet, although Kaedo doubted anyone would be conscious enough to overhear her.

Kaedo shook his head. He briefly considered what she would’ve done if he had said yes. “Sometimes my legs hurt at night.”

“Oh.” She kicked off her boots and dabbed on some of Pigsy’s poultice on her feet before holding it out. “Did you want to try this?”

He shook his head again, much more vigorously. “That stuff is for you. The pain is usually gone by morning, anyway.”

“It’s because you’re getting taller,” Tripitaka explained after some thought. “I got those when I was your age when I hit a growth spurt.”

“Yeah, and what a help that growth spurt was,” Kaedo teased with a playful grin.

She rolled her eyes. “Thank you so much.” Her look softened. “You’ll grow out of it. Literally. I promise.”

The two of them sat in silence for a bit, neither deciding to commit to laying down and actually sleeping. Kaedo noticed that Tripitaka kept looking at him sadly out of the corner of her eye when she thought he wasn’t looking. Finally he faced her directly. “Alright, out with it. Where did you hide your smile?”

She blinked. “What?”

“Your smile. It’s gone,” Kaedo insisted. “Do we need to go look for it?”

Tripitaka shook her head, a smile already ghosting across her face. “No, no, it’s not that. It’s just the Scholar, the man who raised me, he said that a lot. It’s… strange, hearing it again.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.” Kaedo frowned. She probably didn’t need a reminder of her dead parental figure. He put on a playful expression. “I could change it. How about… Who’s holding your smile hostage? Who do I need to beat up to get it back?” Tripitaka burst out laughing. “There it is,” Kaedo grinned. He waited until she had quieted before prodding her arm.

“But really, what is it?” he asked, once again serious.

She shook her head. “Not much to be cheerful about in a place like this, you know?”

Kaedo quirked his mouth. “That’s not the real reason. Try again.”

“I was just thinking.” Kaedo let her be still for a moment before she sighed. “How does the Fangkris poison work?” she asked quietly.

“Fever. Nausea. Respiratory distress. Convulsions. Coma. Uh…” He half shrugged. “Weird dreams, apparently. Death. You know, the usual stuff,” Kaedo recited without thinking. He stopped and looked at Tripitaka, stricken with horror.

Oh. He really shouldn’t have said that.

“Tripitaka…”

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “You had to go through all that alone.”

Kaedo waved her off. “Don’t worry about it. The poison didn’t take.”

“But you said that it’s lethal?” she asked, puzzled.

For her, maybe. “Dad always said to never carry around a poison without a cure,” he lied. “Granted, the cure is so rare I only had one and it’s not… pleasant, but…”

She buried her head in her hands. “It should’ve been me,” she whispered.

“No. Better me than you,” he said, shrugging. Tripitaka was too important.

She looked at him, astonished. “How could you ever say that? No one is worth more than anyone else.”

He furiously turned on her, but his hot rage evaporated under her stare. His darting eyes searched hers. “You are.” He looked away from her sad eyes. “I wasn’t alone,” he finally said, studying his hands and trying to reclaim the memory of his mother’s gentle touch and reassurances.

She frowned. “You weren’t?”

“Nah. I had the Harvesters for company!” He cracked a grin and she sighed and shook her head before looking like a kicked puppy again.

“Don’t. I know what you’re doing, and stop it,” Kaedo ordered.

“And what am I doing?” she asked, using her sleeve to dab at her eyes.

“You don’t think you feel guilty enough so you’re looking for new reasons to feel worse. You’re constantly trying to make yourself feel bad because you don’t think you’re worthy of your quest or even thinking you’re a horrible person. And you’re not. You’re a great m-” He cut himself off before the word escaped his mouth, glancing around.

She recoiled, grasping for something to say but failing, her face bunched up with questions she didn’t know how to articulate. “A great what?”

“Can’t say ‘monk’ around here, can I?” His voice dropped to a whisper.

“I’m not a monk,” she replied seriously.

“Right. You’re a farmer.” Kaedo put a hand on her shoulder. “I’ve only been traveling with you for a little while, but… I know you, Tripitaka. More than you realize. I also know that not everything is on you or your fault. You’re not supposed to be perfect.”

“I’m supposed to be the one that saves everyone. The so-called hope of humanity.”

Kaedo shook his head sadly. “You’ve always been like that,” he muttered. Tripitaka gave him an odd look. “You bleeding heart hero types,” he said quickly. “You’ve got the weight of the world on your shoulders. You think every little misstep and every single unlucky thing that befalls people is your fault, when it’s really not.”

“I just… should be better,” she said. She sniffled. “I lost the scrolls, Monkey’s staff. Pigsy got hurt. You got hurt. And even when we made it to that garden… I got lost in it. The thing that snapped me out of it was Sandy saying your name. The name of the boy I killed.”

Kaedo swallowed. He hated the idea of his name being used as a source of pain, a weapon that pierced her soul, even if it was meant to help. “But I didn’t die,” Kaedo said quietly. “I’m here now, aren’t I?”

“I didn’t know that at the time.” She drank in his features. “I still almost can’t bear to believe that you’re actually alive.”

Kaedo thought about her, the unbearable grief at the concept of the world’s pure of heart hero being a murderer and his heart squeezed in pity for her. He swallowed hard, and rolled onto his back. The smoke from all the fires had blotted out the night sky’s stars, leaving a vast swath of openness and vulnerability.

“Even if I had died,” he began carefully. He heard her swallow a painful sounding lump in her throat. “It wouldn’t have been your fault. It was that Hagfish guy controlling you. You wouldn’t have been a murderer.”

“Does it really matter?” she asked, voice quavering.

“It does.” He glanced over to her. “And no one could possibly blame you for losing yourself in a paradise where all your worries fell away.”

Tripitaka lay down and reached over to ruffle his hair. “You’re too kind to me.”

Kaedo snorted, letting his eyes shut even though he knew his habitual hypervigilance wouldn’t allow sleep to come to him, especially in hostile territory. “I’m just being a friend. Name your kid after me or something.”

He could almost hear her smile. “Goodnight, Kaedo.”

“Goodnight, Tripitaka.”

Kaedo waited until her breathing changed so that it was deep and even, matching the soft snores that surrounded them. The rest of the camp had quieted as well with only a few guards silently patrolling. Kaedo figured he should probably go find Monkey and got up, lightly draping his blanket over Tripitaka, who didn’t stir. He prowled through the camp, noting that Dreglon had been forced to cast off his old armor and wear a standardized Red Guard uniform to guard the human prisoners. Ideas for his escape bubbled around in his mind as he walked, eventually finding himself near Khan’s tent. He debated whether he could sneak inside to have a look before Monkey stomped out of the tent, growling to himself.

“Having fun?” Kaedo asked.

Monkey’s head snapped to look at him. “I’ve been fanning that demon for _hours_ ,” he hissed. “She only just now fell asleep. And since she’s a demon, she’s probably going to wake up soon, anyway.”

Kaedo chuckled and started walking away from the tent to a more secluded area. “That sounds like a personal problem. Is the great Monkey King a little sore from losing to me?”

“It’s Norman here,” Monkey grumbled. “Stupid, humble, weak, pathetically human Norman.”

Kaedo thought it was a believable disguise until the rest of Monkey’s adjectives followed the first word. “How long did it take to come up with that backstory?”

Monkey’s hands twitched. “We… came up with it on the spot.”

“Wow. You’re terrible at this,” Kaedo noticed. “How have you guys survived on the road for so long?”

“I didn’t see you making up a cover story,” Monkey said accusingly.

“Yeah, because I don’t need one,” Kaedo retorted. “My name tends to get me where I need to go. You guys are rather high-profile by comparison.”

Monkey kicked at the dirt and mumbled something under his breath. Kaedo cocked his head at him. “You’re not the dumbest person alive, but you’d best hope they don’t die anytime soon.”

Monkey threw him a spiteful look. “Yeah? Well you’re the one that was dumb enough to let himself get stabbed by someone who was clearly under mind control.”

Anger curled through Kaedo’s arms. Monkey hadn’t been there, he couldn’t judge. “I thought she would break out of it.”

“She’s a human,” Monkey scoffed. “Humans are weak.”

“Don’t you dare underestimate her. Doesn’t matter if she’s a human,” Kaedo hissed at him. He scoffed. “You know I’m human, right?”

“Sure.” Monkey glanced down at him, unconvinced. “A human that can go toe to toe with a god? With _me_? Right.”

“Have you ever considered that you just suck?”

Monkey’s eyes flashed and his lip curled. “I was holding back. Tripitaka said to. And you’re… small. And young. Wouldn’t be fair.”

“Glad you don’t hold my youth against me, old man,” Kaedo snorted. “I was trained by people a lot more powerful than you.”

“Even if you weren’t a human, which I’m fully convinced you’re not, I don’t have all my powers back.”

Kaedo squinted, tilting his head. “How many years of combat experience do you have? Experience overpowers any disadvantage.”

“A thousand years,” Monkey said confidently.

Kaedo raised an eyebrow. “And how much of that was just _thinking_ about training while you were in prison?”

“…It’s a thousand if you round up,” Monkey finally admitted. He scowled. “You cheated.”

“No, I won,” Kaedo said tartly.

“What are you? Demon? Creature in disguise? You’re too young to be a newly transformed god,” Monkey said, studying him. “Khan hates humans, and yet you were her champion.”

“I made a big impression on her,” Kaedo shrugged.

Monkey impatiently shifted his weight. “Then there’s that tiny little matter of you surviving a serious injury and a lethal poison that doesn’t have a cure.”

“Well, who says it doesn’t?” Kaedo challenged. “You’ve been out of the loop for five hundred years.”

“Pigsy didn’t appear to react to the Fangkris as if it had a cure,” Monkey said flatly. He leveled his gaze at Kaedo, who for once felt uncomfortable under his stare. This guy was smarter than he let on. “You may have fooled Tripitaka, but you’re not fooling me, so I’m going to ask you again. What. Are. You?”

“Here to help,” Kaedo replied. “That’s all I am. Look, I know you don’t care about Tripitaka, but I do. It’s why I’m here.”

“What do you mean? Of course I care, she’s my friend,” Monkey scoffed.

“Really?” Kaedo snorted, relieved that his redirection tactic worked. “Says the god that can’t look after her properly. She _told you_ she felt something was off about that scroll and you didn’t listen to her and she got hurt. You’re always brushing her off, dismissing her accomplishments, constantly giving her grief for impossible choices! She cares about you, and yet you ignore her!” He didn’t mean for the last part to be so loud and heated, but didn’t regret it.

“Why do you care so much?” Monkey asked him, taken aback.

“Why don’t you?” Kaedo spat. “You’re supposed to care about Tripitaka and you don’t!”

“Look, kid…” Monkey began before he glanced away, frustrated, a thousand emotions dancing across his face. “I don’t know where you got that notion.”

“I don’t know, traveling with you guys painted a pretty clear picture,” Kaedo grumbled.

“Yeah, well, you don’t know the full story,” Monkey growled. Eventually he glanced at Kaedo, his eyes softened just a bit. “How is she doing?”

Kaedo blinked. “Guilt tripping herself as always, but I think I talked her out of it. She’s fine. Asleep right now.”

Monkey nodded to himself. “That’s good.” He let out a quiet breath. “She’s not safe here.”

“Finally, something we agree on,” Kaedo muttered.

“Can you get her out of here?”

“I’ve got a few ideas,” Kaedo said with a shrug. “I can take her to the human resistance at Lion Heart Rock.”

Monkey was already nodding. “Then do it. We can catch up with you later. Just-”

“Watch out for her. I know,” Kaedo replied out of reflex. He swallowed the lump in his throat. “She’s not going to like leaving you or Sandy and Pigsy behind.”

“Then lie,” Monkey said, quirking a smile. “You’re good at that.”

Kaedo gave him a glance. “So are you.”

They were silent for a moment. Kaedo sensed something changed between the two of them, a tacit alliance built from the one thing that they cared about unifying them, but didn’t dare point it out. Monkey’s expression changed as well.

The silence was broken when Khan’s valet stepped out of the tent. His eyes settled on Kaedo. “You, boy. It’s time for your task.” Kaedo glanced at Monkey, who smirked. The valet stared haughtily at him. “Norman, the general wishes to be fanned once again.” Kaedo grinned as Monkey’s expression plunged from his face as they walked into the ominous tent, the valet explaining everything to Kaedo.

“Why do I have to do this?” Kaedo tried not to whine. “I’m… her champion? Doesn’t that give me some privileges?”

“The general considers this task to be an enjoyable one. You should be honored,” the valet tsked. “You are here in her tent, in her presence, instead of out amongst the common rabble. It is a privilege.”

Kaedo slowly nodded and shot Monkey a look before muttering he would be right back and darting out the tent.

One hastily poured and spiked ale later, and Dreglon was asleep on the ground, leaving the conscripts unguarded. Kaedo darted back to Tripitaka.

“Hey!” She stirred and glanced up at him, blinking. “Come on, we gotta go.”

“Is Monkey with you?” she asked tiredly, sitting up. Kaedo didn’t answer, instead opting to hurry away, knowing she’d follow. He heard her quiet footsteps as he led her to an entrance to the camp. These particular demons on guard were definitely not of the highest caliber; they’d be easy to take down.

“Where are we going?” Tripitaka whispered to him.

“Lion Heart Rock,” he replied, glancing back at her. “The rebels are there, waiting for you.”

She grabbed his shoulder. “We don’t have any of the scrolls!” she said lowly. “We don’t know when Gorm’s-”

Kaedo had to make her stop talking and just run. “The rebels rose up because of you,” he told her. “Not for scrolls or gods, you. You gave them hope.” He searched her face, watching as she slowly processed his words. “They need _you_. Now come on.” He hoped that if he got her to just follow him, she wouldn’t stop to question where her gods were until they were long gone. He’d come up with something to say in the meantime.

“Who goes there?” a guard demanded. Kaedo’s heart sank as he saw the demon lady in the golden dress approach.

“Take me to General Khan immediately,” she responded, holding up a golden envelope. “I have an urgent message from Lord Gorm.”

Tripitaka watched her go. “We can’t leave now,” she said. Kaedo’s eyes squeezed shut, berating himself for missing such a perfect opportunity. He grimaced. He probably should be getting back, and wordlessly led her on another, faster path through the tents back to Khan’s tent. Tripitaka stifled a yawn and followed him, waiting outside.

Kaedo shot an apologetic glance at Monkey when he entered, who merely set his jaw and continued to fan the demon, trying to hide his frustrated look. Sandy and Pigsy entered, Sandy struggling to remember how to describe Pigsy’s fancy cooking before he took over for her. Kaedo didn’t like how Khan’s eyes looked over Pigsy, and he could tell that Pigsy didn’t either. Khan’s gaze honed in on Kaedo.

“The pimples on my back aren’t going to pop themselves!” she growled.

Kaedo swallowed hard as Monkey gave him a sly look, his feeble protest dying in his throat as Sandy nudged him towards the demon. He cringed but was saved when the demon messenger entered the tent and Khan begrudgingly kicked them all out.

Kaedo all but fled, bumping into Tripitaka who dragged him around the corner. Monkey paced around.

“We need to get a hold of Gorm’s message,” he said, eyes lit up at the prospect of fighting Gorm again, probably to get revenge for losing so badly the first time. “If the demons are planning an attack, we need to know when and how.”

“Probably to attack Lion Heart Rock,” Kaedo said. “The rebels are based there.”

Sandy frowned. “How do you know that?” Monkey also frowned, probably realizing he hadn’t thought to ask that earlier this morning.

“Their families are among the captives,” Kaedo lied. He was sure on some level that was true. At least one human here had to be related to them, right? “We need to go there. They need our strength.”

Monkey looked torn, a part of him wanting to flee and keep Tripitaka safe, the other part of him itching to settle a score that was, in his mind, bitterly uneven. Kaedo wondered which part of his mind would subdue the other, although it looked like his priorities were drastically shifting now that he knew one goal was actually within reach.

“Monkey’s right,” Tripitaka said, eliminating his choice in two words. Kaedo felt a sour taste in his mouth that she wasn’t taking his side. “We need to find out what’s in the envelope. We can’t leave here until we do.” Monkey gave her a fond pat on the back, shooting Kaedo a disdainful look over her head as he did so. Kaedo tried to not let his irritation show at Monkey’s possessive ‘ _my human_ ’ behavior. The five of them stopped when Dreglon started bellowing that he had been poisoned as he was dragged to a pillory for sleeping on the job. Tripitaka grinned and offered Kaedo a gleeful fist bump. Kaedo heard Monkey stifle a chuckle.

“There’s a safe where Khan is keeping the envelope,” Pigsy said quietly. “If we can get her key, we can get the envelope.”

“We can handle that,” Monkey said, elbowing Kaedo, who nodded, plastering a forced smile on his face. That would likely involve getting close to Khan again. The three of them hastily devised a plan to steal the key from the demon that Pigsy and Monkey were whole-heartedly convinced would work, and Kaedo went with it and played his part, making several back up plans just in case this one went awry. To his eternal shock, it actually worked, and the key dropped into the golden pitcher as planned. Kaedo tried to hide his face as he swept it up and walked beside them as Khan went back to her tent.

The valet blocked their way, haughtily declaring they remain outside.

“But the general will need to be fanned,” Monkey ground out.

“And I think-” Kaedo began before the valet cut him off.

“Don’t think. I’ve had servants executed for less than that,” the valet scorned. “Out.”

Kaedo swallowed his temper and stalked off to join Tripitaka sitting nearby. Monkey remained to glare, probably calculating if he would be able to get away with punching his head clean off (Kaedo had already determined that he wouldn’t be able to get very far), before Tripitaka hissed at him to leave it and join them. Monkey and Kaedo closely flanked her as they bunched up on a bench. She glanced at both of them.

“We need to deal with Khan’s valet.”

One half-baked plan and a well-placed sedative dart later (the first one was a fluke), and Tripitaka was dressed in the valet’s clothes headed back to Khan’s tent with Pigsy. Kaedo followed a second later, watching as Tripitaka eased herself over to the safe and he threw her the key as Pigsy kept the demon distracted. Kaedo watched Tripitaka’s face fall as she opened the safe. She glanced at Monkey and Kaedo nervously. Kaedo swallowed hard, startled when Khan abruptly threw them all out to be alone with Pigsy.

“What now?” Kaedo asked when they had all escaped.

Tripitaka shrugged. “We wait, I guess? Pigsy will come through.”

Monkey huffed. “Not with the way she was looking at him.” He rubbed his hands together. “Lunch?”

“Yeah. We should probably make sure Sandy hasn’t killed anyone yet,” Tripitaka agreed.

“I dunno, I wouldn’t mind if that Quiver guy met with an unfortunate fate,” Kaedo muttered. “Neither would Sandy. They _hate_ each other.”

“At the very least she could ‘accidentally’ get rid of his stupid mustache,” Monkey said, eyes crinkling with mischief.

Kaedo let out a thoughtful sound. “If we’ve got the time, we might be able to pull it off… Figuratively, of course.”

“Of course,” Monkey echoed, shooting him a thrilled grin.

“So glad to see the two of you finally getting along,” Tripitaka said with a smile, leading the way to Sandy’s tent.

Even taking their time with eating (and getting multiple portions in Kaedo’s case) Pigsy still hadn’t emerged, which worried Tripitaka. Monkey and Kaedo came up with a backup plan in case Pigsy failed, something about lowering Kaedo through the roof of Khan’s tent in a harness. Well, it was more exciting than anything plan Kaedo could come up with, so he let Monkey fiddle with the ropes while they waited. Kaedo amused himself with braiding the Dreglon’s hair and trying out several styles, much to Monkey’s delight and Dreglon’s annoyance.

Pigsy burst out of the tent with a haunted look. Tripitaka intercepted him and whispered their plan to him. Kaedo trotted over from Dreglon to join Monkey. “Hello, childhood trauma,” he said, unable to hide his laugh, Monkey cackling as well.

“You’re a childhood trauma,” Pigsy retorted.

Tripitaka shoved him in exasperation. “Oh, come on,” she sighed, pulling him away. Kaedo smiled at her as Monkey set up their pulley system for their backup plan heist. A bit later and Monkey practically tossed a harnessed Kaedo up to the roof after Pigsy had been inside for a bit, springing up after him. A quick slice later and Monkey slowly lowered Kaedo through the hole, down to the floor.

“Oh?” Pigsy said to Khan. “So you’re 472 years old? What an interesting number, zero-four-seven-two.”

Kaedo took that as his cue and entered the combination. The safe didn’t open. Kaedo tried not to sigh and studied the safe. It actually didn’t look that securely designed. It was probably held by a weak bolt at best. He grimaced, and opted to just brute force it and rip the door off its hinges. He took a breath and yanked back on it, smiling when the door popped open without a complaint.

A vase crashed behind him. His smile dropped off his face as he looked up into Khan’s furious eyes.

She let out a snarl and with one motion slashed the rope suspending Kaedo in the air. “Guards! To me, immediately!”

Kaedo groaned as the guards rushed in, hauling a disgruntled Monkey with them.

“Take these three to the arena,” Khan ordered, pointing her sword to them in turn. “There’s going to be a post dinner execution.”

A guard grabbed Kaedo’s harness and jerked him to his feet and threw him outside. He looked around for Tripitaka and stifled a yelp when a guard cuffed him upside the head and shoved him forward.

“Keep walking, traitor!” he yelled in Kaedo’s ear. Kaedo sighed and plodded on, stalwartly ignoring the Red Guard’s stares as their once-beloved champion was paraded in front of them. He idly wondered where Murk and Ilgrath were as he tried to think of a way out of this predicament. He’d escaped an execution before, but he didn’t know if he could extricate himself and Monkey out of this scenario, much less all three of them. Maybe he was losing his touch, he mused as he was bound to the pillar alongside the two gods.

“Did you really have to throw me?” Kaedo muttered to Monkey, who shrugged as best he could.

“You’re the size of a small dog. How could I not?” he replied.

“That’s really your priority right now?” Pigsy grumbled.

“Well, all my other projects have been put on hold for the moment, so yeah, sure, it might as well be,” Kaedo responded tartly.

“Any other things you want to ask before we die?” Pigsy asked.

Kaedo thought for a moment. “How’s the sunset from your angle, Monkey?”

“Not bad, actually.”

“I’ve seen better,” Pigsy said with a sigh. “Shame we’re missing out on dinner.”

“What dinner?” Monkey scoffed. “All the demons went back for thirds and fourths as opposed to their usual seconds. There was nothing left for the conscripts. Or us.” Kaedo let out a disappointed sound at the thought of going hungry for a night and breaking his streak. Then he remembered he was about to be executed and figured he wouldn’t be disappointed for long.

“I guess she finally managed to properly cook a stew,” Pigsy mused. “I’m so proud.”

Khan walked out as darkness settled over the camp, sharpening her blade. “In recognition of your culinary skills, I am going to slice you with a sharp blade.”

“Thank you,” Pigsy muttered. The soldiers around them groaned and doubled over, mumbling about the stew that must’ve been bad. Some outright fled to the trees, staggering away. “Hm. Maybe I’ve praised her too early…” Pigsy mused, trying to not gag.

Kaedo craned his neck and watched as Sandy strolled into the arena and challenged Khan, within a few motions disabling her and cutting the three of them loose.

“Get the conscripts out of here,” Sandy told him. “I’ll handle Khan.”

Kaedo nodded and made a break for the areas where the humans were kept, although upon arriving, he found a lot of them had already fled, their guards incapacitated and moaning on the ground. The rest of the demons that were not as incapacitated were not a challenge at all, falling within a few quick blows or hurled knives. The conscripts surged past Kaedo as he gathered up some leftover knives, cheering for their newfound freedom. Kaedo caught up with Tripitaka in no time, once again running into the forest where he felt most at home, right beside his makeshift family.


	6. Chapter 6

_Kaedo walked into the study, where his dad beckoned to him, standing in front of a table with an unrolled scroll lying on the table. “Come here, son.” Kaedo walked over and stood between his dad’s large arms._

_“Now that you’ve turned ten, your mother seems to be under the impression that’s a special occasion, so you’re going to learn something important. So here goes.” Kaedo directed his attention to the scroll on the table. “Now this-” He tapped on the scroll in front of them, “Is one of the many, many scrolls that we look after. Many of the scrolls we keep in our archives are special to us, but this one…” His fingers ghosted over the parchment. “It’s always been considered… quirky, among its kind. Even to its creators.”_

_“Why?” Kaedo asked, looking up at him._

_“Upon first glance, it just looks like any other exotic scroll written in some strange, indecipherable language, but no. This one is special. It’s almost as if it has a mind of its own, a will to carry out its visions and empower people to make them happen.”_

_“Visions of what, Dad?”_

_“Things that have happened in the past, things that are happening right now, and things that will happen in the future. This, Kaedo, is the sacred Scroll of Time.”_

_Kaedo’s eyes widened before he looked back up at his dad. “Are you going to use it?”_

_He watched his dad’s eyes darken. “I don’t want to. Time is not something to be trifled with.”_

\---

“Time to go. Come on, get up; we need to get moving.”

“What?” Kaedo muttered, rolling to his feet before he was properly awake. Tripitaka was already up and moving deeper into the trees. “What’s going on?”

Monkey’s eyes gleamed with excitement. “Dreglon is coming. He’s got a small group of soldiers with him.”

Kaedo shook out his arms and cracked his neck, glancing up at the sky. It probably was well past midnight, so he’d had enough sleep to last him for a while. “What’s the plan?”

Sandy and Pigsy picked off the first demons to drag them off the path without a noise. Kaedo was next, spiriting a soldier away and holding a blade so close to his throat that he didn’t dare breathe. The demon and Kaedo stared at each other for several tense seconds before someone shouted from the road. The demon slapped Kaedo’s spear away and fled. Kaedo hurled the spear with all his strength, turning the demon to smoke and landing somewhere in the bushes.

When Kaedo returned to the road, he saw Monica with a detachment of rebels surrounding Monkey and Dreglon.

“What are you doing here?” Tripitaka asked, walking to greet her. Kaedo opted to pick up Dreglon’s sword and hold it at his throat.

“Waiting for you,” she replied. She nodded and several rebels surrounded Dreglon and bound his hands. Kaedo drifted to the back, avoiding interacting with Monica and Tripitaka, doing his best to avoid looking at the recruits. If someone looked at him or tried to speak with him, he would pointedly move away.

He knew they didn’t deserve his rudeness. His mother would’ve told him to be polite and respectful. But if she knew what he had to do, she might understand.

They marched through the rest of the night until they arrived at Lion Heart Rock, each step deepening Kaedo’s unease. What exactly was he supposed to do now? He’d gotten Tripitaka and the gods here, so what was going to happen to him? Ever since he’d been contacted by Monica, he’d had a set goal, a purpose. But now that his task was done, he had nothing else planned. Uncertainty yawned in front of his feet, a chasm he didn’t know how he was going to cross. He took several deep breaths, putting a hand over his pocket where his compass was, not finding any comfort there. He didn’t want to pull it out and have anyone raise any questions.

Monica led them into the caves and Dreglon was dragged off. Kaedo was uncomfortable at his shield from Monica’s eye being taken away but tried to not show it.

“Our guests are hungry,” she said to the surrounding people. Monkey knowingly nudged Kaedo, who shoved him back out of habit. Hopefully he’d get more portions, undersupplied rebels be damned. It’s not like they’d need it anyway. He didn’t know when his next food source would arrive after he left, anyway. After accepting his plate and stuffing his pockets with what he could, Kaedo ducked through people’s arms and legs to go take his food outside, away from any talk of battle strategies and away from Tripitaka and Monica and the gods.

After he’d eaten and sat outside for a while, he walked around the rebel’s camp, trying to not look at anyone or attract attention. What was his next move going to be? He couldn’t stay here, that was for certain. Not with Gorm’s army bearing down upon them. But what about Tripitaka? What was she going to do? She couldn’t stay here, would she? What if he could travel with her away from here, wait for the battle to end, and then go from there? Was that his next move? He swallowed hard, and clenched his hands into fists to keep them from shaking.

A single sound cut through the awful noise in his brain, and he turned his attention to it, glaring but at the same time grateful it had so pierced through the muddle of his racing thoughts. A haggard looking woman was trying to console a wailing child while at the same time pack a bag. Kaedo trotted over and knelt in front of the toddler and without really thinking about it, grabbed one of its little hands and started to hum a song, singing the words that, according to his aunt, were the only things that could make him settle down as a baby. Within a few verses the cries silenced and Kaedo finished the song with a smile.

“Thank you,” the woman breathed. “She’s been fussy all day…” Kaedo shrugged and stood up, but the woman reached out and took his arm. Kaedo did his best to not flinch.

“Do you have any brothers or sisters?” she asked him. “You seem like you’d be a good brother.”

“No.”

He idly wondered what it would be like, to be surrounded by brothers and sisters. How good of an older brother would he be? Would his older siblings be annoyed with him? Would they have had the same childhood as he did? He remembered when he was very young, he’d asked his mom why he was the only one. She’d playfully ruffled his hair. _Why mess with perfection?_ His dad had gotten a dark look across his eyes when prompted. It wasn’t until he was older and they were alone that he learned the truth. _She wanted you to be born, you wanted to hatch._

“You’re the bounty hunter, right?” she asked him. “One of the Zefs, right? Kaedo?”

He nodded, remaining where he was. He supposed word would’ve traveled through the camp by now who exactly he was. He really needed to get his payment from Monica and leave, hopefully without running into Tripitaka.

The woman studied him. “I didn’t know the Zefs knew songs of the fisher folk.”

“They don’t.” Kaedo smiled at the toddler and let her play with his hand.

“Oh. Alright,” the woman said.

“You’re leaving soon?” Kaedo blinked. He hadn’t been meaning to blurt that out. He hadn’t been meaning to talk at all. His words were wasted on ghosts.

“Yes. We were just visiting my husband and dropping off some supplies for our brave rebels and then we’ll be on our way.” The woman gave her daughter a kiss. “And you?”

But Kaedo was already walking away, fearful his mouth would betray him again. He wondered if he did stay, if he could change anything, if his presence would make a difference at all. Monica seemed to think that Monkey and Sandy and Pigsy would make all the difference in the world, so why couldn’t he? He made for the caves. He couldn’t be here any longer. As he rounded the corner, he realized he never learned that woman’s name.

He stepped into the chamber where Monica had originally hired him and froze. Tripitaka was there, talking with Monica.

“Oh. I’ll come back later,” he said, backing away, leaving his stomach on the floor.

“No, come in,” Monica said. “Come and get paid so you can get out of here.” Kaedo swallowed and walked up to stand next to Tripitaka, trying to not look at her. “This isn’t your war to fight, bounty hunter.”

Kaedo briefly shut his eyes. Did Monica really have to rat him out like that?

“Bounty hunter?” Tripitaka said, puzzled. She looked at Kaedo, who reluctantly met her gaze. He searched her confused eyes and watched as the betrayal trickled in, cutting a swathe through his heart more painfully than the Fangkris ever did to his side.

“Didn’t you know?” Monica asked. Kaedo desperately wished she would be quiet as he blanked his features. “He’s good, this one. Best of the best. Worth every cent.” She tossed him a bag of coins that Kaedo had to fumble to catch, relieved for a chance to not have to look at Tripitaka’s face, now filled with hurt.

“Tell your mother and father the Rebellion always pays its debts,” Monica informed him. Kaedo had to take a moment to remember that he was supposed to be a Zef and that she was likely eliciting help from such a powerful clan. He wordlessly nodded and walked away. He tried to convince himself that Tripitaka’s anger would be directed at Monica and he could escape without having to actually confront her.

But he knew she wasn’t like that, especially with those angry sounding footsteps behind him.

“Hey!” Kaedo kept walking. He wasn’t even sure where he was going at this point, just away from Tripitaka’s voice, away from her wrath, even if he knew her well enough that she would not just let a matter like this drop. “I trusted you! I left behind two sacred scrolls and abandoned my mission!”

He turned to face her without intending to, letting his pragmatism take over so his emotions didn’t blurt out something stupid. He could think on his feet; he’d been doing it this entire time. But what could he even say to her that wouldn’t give himself away or break her heart?

Nothing, he realized bitterly. The only play, for now, was the heartless, ruthlessly pragmatic bounty hunter. He wasn’t her friend, she was a mark of no relation to him, a mere means to an end to a meal ticket.

“It’s nothing personal. It’s just business,” he said, stalling for time as he donned his façade that erased any emotions from his face, despising every second of it.

“You lied to me!” she hissed. “You told me that these were your people!”

…To his credit he never actually said that. Tripitaka had just believed what she wanted to believe and went with whatever gave her hope. Kaedo had never intended for her to think that, but he couldn’t blame himself for what she’d extrapolated on her own.

“We’re all going to die here because of you,” she said, voice teetering dangerously on the edge of breaking.

“Hey! A man’s gotta eat,” he replied, anger at her revelation slipping through his composure.

Had he inadvertently condemned her to die here? No, he couldn’t have. She was supposed to be here, wasn’t she? He faltered.

She scoffed. “Oh, don’t play the poor, starving orphan with me, bounty hunter,” she spat as she grabbed him to force him to face her again.

“You watch yourself,” Kaedo growled before he remembered who he was talking to. She wasn’t hostile. Angry and hurt, but not hostile.

She stared through his soul, her righteous fury heating her gaze, and it took all of Kaedo’s strength to not look away. “You knew all along that Tripitaka was going to take the quest away from me.”

…Was that not who he was talking to?

She went on, oblivious to his confusion. “He’ll take Pigsy, Sandy, and Monkey.”

…Who the hell was she talking about? Monica was the one who contacted him, not some other guy who… Oh. The other Tripitaka. Right. Kaedo had utterly forgotten about him.

“You sold me out for coins,” she growled.

“It was a lot of coins,” Kaedo replied, thankful she’d moved onto a topic he could actually talk about.

Her jaw set. “What if the demons offered you a bigger bounty?”

“They did.” The truth would only help at this point.

“And you considered it?” He watched her eyes darken as she tried to fathom the depths of his depravity.

This time, a lie was the only thing that would help him. “At first. It’d be bad business not to.” He paused. His ruthlessness faltered. “Then I met you and changed my mind.”

“I hope it was worth it,” she said stiffly and brushed past him. He looked after her in disbelief, unable to help himself from being disappointed that the last phrase he blurted out, the meager comfort that it was, had bounced right off of her.

He should have expected that much from her.

He watched her go, doing his best to not flinch when she tossed a furious look at him over her shoulder, going to the gods to vent. Kaedo remained where he was, his insides thoroughly chewed up. He’d kept his secret, but now she hated him. He was yet another reminder that she didn’t think she was worthy of this quest that had been foisted upon her, the quest that kept taking so much from her over and over again. Kaedo glanced up as a man in white robes approached the gods and they left Tripitaka alone, looking even more broken down. That must be the other Tripitaka if he could prompt that kind of response without even speaking to her.

Kaedo hesitated, debating on what to do next. His Tripitaka was safe here, and she probably didn’t want to see him lurking around. He supposed his next move would be to follow the gods and make sure they didn’t stray too far. He watched from the trees as the man in white led the people in prayer and introduced the gods, hesitating on Sandy’s name. Kaedo’s brow wrinkled, his dislike growing by the second. The guy seemed like he was up his self-important ass shamelessly chugging his own home brewed piety.

Kaedo could see why no one went out of their way to tell him about this guy.

Monkey spent quite a while training the inept rebels, although his training more amounted to showing off and expecting the beginners to learn something. Made for some amusing sights, though. Kaedo sighed. He really shouldn’t be laughing at people who were all but dead. Dead but still walking, still struggling, still laughing, still breathing. Kaedo brushed off the doom. He’d grown accustomed to seeing people on his travels and then wondering if they were mere specters blithely living their lives or not.

Was he such a ghost? Wandering around, forever lost in a place cut off from home? His home that he could only see in memories that he could walk in and feel but never touch? Memories that he sometimes couldn’t trust to be real? If he ever could go back, would reality live up to his hope? Would his mother live up to his dreams that he held so close? A tear rolled down his cheek and he let out a whimper, shrinking into a ball and rocking himself, more tears like a fountain pouring down his face. 

He hadn’t cried like this ever since his second day alone, when it fully hit him how truly isolated he was.

Wait. He uncurled and looked around, just now noticing everyone surrounding him streaming tears as well. As far as he could tell from his watery eyes, Sandy looked baffled, examining her hands.

No one had told him she could do that. He wiped his nose on his sleeve and let his hiccups come to a stop. Stupid. His nose would be stuffed up for hours now, he groused, going to find a stream to clean himself up.

The flowing water was a good enough place to stop and think away from everyone else. He counted his coins, calculating how long it would last him until he could get his next job, and then calculated again in the case where he couldn’t get a job. He went through all of his pouches and pockets to take an inventory, spending time honing his knives’ edges and debating which poison or sedative he needed to prioritize restocking. He saved his pouch that held his compass for last, as he usually did. He examined the gift, wiping off smudges from its worn surface, watching the gears spin and point straight to where he’d left Tripitaka.

His heart was leaden with guilt, overridden with uncertainty. Once again, he asked himself, what was he supposed to do now? What else could he do for Tripitaka? He thought of the impending battle. She wouldn’t be on the field; the gods wouldn’t let her anywhere near, surely. But where was she going to go that Kaedo could guarantee she would be safe and wait it out? Was he even supposed to be able to give her that guarantee? He couldn’t be on the field. He couldn’t risk it, couldn’t intervene.

“Please. Please just give me a sign…” Kaedo whispered, squeezing the compass. “I don’t know what you want from me.”

Kaedo remained still, idly wondering if the sound of the water could lull him into a sleep and he’d magically wake up knowing the answer.

The compass clicked, and Kaedo snapped his attention to it. Tripitaka was on the move. He sighed and put it away. He might as well go and see what she was up to. After putting everything back in its proper place and trotting back, he found the man in white performing a motivational sermon to the crowd. Kaedo rolled his eyes and started to walk away, but a flash of a familiar blue caught his eye. Tripitaka was standing nearby, looking skeptical, her gaze occasionally flitting to the three gods standing apart from her, noticeably downcast and quiet. Kaedo sat down by a tree and listened, seized with pity for her.

“In four days’ time,” the man in white said, “Gorm and his army will bear down upon us carrying the two sacred scrolls.”

Kaedo watched Tripitaka’s brow crinkle. “Gorm doesn’t have the scrolls.”

As the people murmured around them, Kaedo smiled to himself at her newfound candor, even if it was, in part, born out of frustration that he himself caused.

The man in white gestured, the pristine robes fluttering with the action. Kaedo wondered if this man had ever gone hungry in his life, his disdain growing with each breath he took. “Then who does?”

She stared at him. “Hagfish.” She paused. “I think,” she added, much more quietly.

“Why would Gorm give the scrolls to his servant?” Monkey asked. His voice sounded tired and unenthused. Kaedo guessed it had something to do with hanging out with the boring monk all day. He knew he’d be browbeaten into going along with whatever that man said as long as it got him to shut up.

“Perhaps Gorm is Hagfish’s servant,” Tripitaka answered, keeping her chin up, eyes sparking with a defiance that was partly shaded by timidity. Kaedo’s interest was piqued.

Monica sighed. “Perhaps you should stop interrupting important meetings with ideas you’re unsure of, girl.”

Tripitaka’s stance shifted ever so slightly. She was standing her ground. “Hagfish’s power is puppetry. He controls people with a pin. He once puppetted me and made me stab one of my companions.” Kaedo’s hand drifted up and brushed against the scar tissue, jaw setting. She still sounded like she hadn’t forgiven herself for something out of her control. Tripitaka went on, “Gorm’s back is covered in pins. Hagfish must be controlling his body, his mind trapped in a doll.”

The crowd started tittering to each other, snickering at the idea. Kaedo ground his teeth hard enough to drown out the noise when Tripitaka’s resolve faltered. It did sound unbelievable, but these people would never know just how unbelievable Tripitaka’s daily life could be, what she had already encountered, what she would encounter.

Kaedo’s eyes shut and he shook his head a little, remembering just how and why these people would never know such things about her journey. He wished he could catch her eye to silently encourage her, but remained where he was, seething.

“A doll? A child’s plaything?” Monica asked, her voice flat.

The monk gave Tripitaka a patronizing smile that Kaedo dearly wished to punch right off his face and approached her space, his mouth forming mocking words disguised in compassion. Kaedo idly wondered if he threw a knife at just the right angle if it would fly through the fabric draping off his arms and no one would notice until later. He smiled at the thought.

“There’s no need to be afraid, girl. Nobody is expecting you to fight Gorm.”

“I’m not worried about me,” Tripitaka said, finding her footing again.

“Then your friends?” the monk asked, gesturing to the three gods. “I can see your concern and fondness for them. But they’re meant to be at my side, as the prophecies foretold.”

“You don’t have the weapons to win this battle,” Tripitaka insisted. The monk merely smiled and gestured, and some rebels dragging a cart laden with shiny new weapons entered the circle. Kaedo went still as Tripitaka looked panicked. “You can’t use these; they’ll turn on you! Anything made by that false scroll of creation will-”

“Enough.” Monica loomed over her, whispering sternly into Tripitaka’s ear. Kaedo didn’t catch what she said, but judging from the tiny slump of Tripitaka’s shoulders and slight bowing of her head, it was another biting wound to her heart.

The monk didn’t offer her such discretion. “ _I_ am Tripitaka. I was chosen by the Scholar, blessed by heaven, and returned from the dead to take the scrolls to the Western mountains.”

Tripitaka looked at the gods for any sign they’d back her up, even give just a small affirmation that they believed in her, and got nothing in return. Kaedo watched her walk away, her face starting to contort with unshed tears.

He wanted to be furious on her behalf, wanted to take a flying leap at the man in white and punch the back of his skull and drive some sense into that space already full of hot air, wanted to force him to listen to her and trust her experience, but instead felt worn. There wasn’t anything he could do in this situation; it’s not like his word was worth anything to Monica now that he’d been paid and dismissed. He couldn’t approach the gods; they had opted to pretend he didn’t exist as a way of showing solidarity with Tripitaka in their own way. And Tripitaka…

Well, she wouldn’t be receptive to any attempts from him to console her, even if he asserted his undying faith in her. She didn’t have any faith in him, so his words would mean nothing.

Once again he found himself at a loss for what to do, his stomach growing a lump of darkness and unease. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. What even could he do?

He heard footsteps and glanced up as Monica stood over him.

“I would ask why you’re still here, but I’ve got a job for you.”

Kaedo appreciated that she didn’t request it or add on ‘if he was interested’. He made a small gesture that he was listening. Monica held out a key.

“Take the girl to my tavern in Palawa. It belongs to her now.” Kaedo studied the woman’s expression. It obviously was a ploy to get Tripitaka out of the way so the man in white could rule over his subjects without any interference, but he could also see faint lines of compassion and concern touching her eye. “You need to leave by morning.”

“Why? The monk couldn’t stand the thought of being in the presence of someone else being possibly right for a day longer?” he asked dryly, taking the key.

“Mind your place, boy,” she warned, her gaze turned to iron. “It’s for her own good. Why are you so reluctant for a job? You’ll get a bag of gold and as much food and drink as you’d like from us here.”

Annoyed that she had read him so easily, he tried to not pout. “I’m not reluctant for a job. I’m… not looking forward to talking to her again.”

Monica rolled her good eye. “Oh, I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware that the mighty rough and tumble bounty hunter Kaedo Zef was afraid to go talk to a girl.”

“It’s not that,” Kaedo snapped. He looked at her in exasperation. “It’s just… she’s more than a little upset with me. You really didn’t have to rat me out like that,” he added sourly.

“I never told you to keep it a secret.” She stood up. “Not my problem that you got yourself attached to your mark. Thought that was the first rule of bounty hunting.”

Kaedo felt stung at the reminder. He was more than a bounty hunter and she was more than a mark. He shoved himself to his feet. “It’ll be done.”

“Get her there safely, boy. If you don’t, going unpaid will be the least of your problems.”

Kaedo nodded, a chill going down his spine despite knowing on a base level the threat was empty, even if it wasn’t intended to be. When Monica walked back to the caves, he considered the deal. Maybe this was the solution, his intended next step. Maybe the quest would restart once he started on this journey, escorting her back. Maybe the gods would rejoin her and they would start again, fresh off the heels of their defeat. Maybe this was what he was supposed to do all along, just roll with the events presented to him and keep moving. For now, he had a familiar goal: keep her safe. For now, he had a direction. That was something he could accept.

He went over to Tripitaka’s campsite, finding her on her bed roll, fiddling with the Fangkris. She glanced up at him, not angry or tired, just indifferent acceptance of his existence. Kaedo wasn’t sure if he preferred active hatred or not.

“Monica told you to go.”

Kaedo slipped on his composed face and held up the tavern’s key. “She’s giving you her tavern in Palawa.” At Tripitaka’s lack of reaction, he tossed the key at her feet. Internally, he was silently begging for Tripitaka to take the deal, the safe option, at the very least walk away from this cursed place and give him a task he could manage.

…But that wasn’t who she was. Monkey claimed to be the one that never ran from a fight, but Tripitaka matched him in not fleeing from her convictions, even if she had moments of hesitation and doubt. Kaedo felt proud of her, that familiar glow in his sternum warming his spirit that he so often felt as he got to know her on this journey. But it was darkened by selfish concern of his own fate, what he was supposed to do next, the omnipresent, unknown burden of what he needed to do to go home. For now, he _needed_ for her to come with him.

“She can keep it.” Tripitaka forced a smile on her face and went back to ignoring him, looking at the Fangkris in her hands.

“You’d have a good life,” he said, unable to think of anything else to say.

“I already do,” she growled, her head moving just a little so she could look at the gods in her peripheral vision before returning her burning focus to Kaedo.

Kaedo tensed. “You sure about that?” He thought of all her trials she’d endured so far: orphaned, poisoned, kidnapped, isolated, lied to, thrown off a balcony, mind controlled, countless injuries, traumas, burdens, tears, fears, unknowns… all for a goal she wasn’t even sure she could achieve. She didn’t even know how difficult the road ahead of her was going to be. He went with the one thing that he knew he could tell her, the one thing that he knew would hurt her. “Your friends seem to have sided with the other Tripitaka.”

“Because you betrayed me,” she said, the venom in her voice making it brittle.

Kaedo took a quick breath. “Or maybe I taught you the most important lesson of them all. You can’t trust anyone.” Even your family. The thought darted through his mind before he could stop it.

She let out a small chuckle and stood to her feet. He stared her in the eye. Her body tensed just for a fraction of a second to warn him before she lashed out with the Fangkris. Kaedo leaped backwards and she swung again, her face not contorted with the rage he anticipated, but eerily calm, controlled, and focused.

Was she being mind controlled again?

He blocked her swings with his forearms and pivoted around her. She caught him with a well-timed back kick and he let himself fall back, trying to see her face. She landed on him and brought the Fangkris to his throat. He seized the handle and brought his knees up to shove her off of him with enough force to send her rolling away, wrenching the blade away from her in the process.

He stood up, and she remained where she was, looking at him out of the corner of her eye. She wasn’t resentful or angry at her defeat. Her expression was inscrutable, which puzzled him. He held up the Fangkris.

“You can have this back when we reach the tavern. We leave at first light.” Without waiting for a reply he walked away, unable to bear looking at her for another second. It was going to be an awful journey, but it was the only thing he could think to do. Surely it was his only option.

Then why did he feel so horrible?

He wanted to go and hide somewhere, but decided to go and raid the rebels’ food supplies first, maybe smuggle some more bread rolls out in his pockets. After he retreated to his quiet place by the stream and stuffed his face again, he thought about what had just happened. Tripitaka had certainly improved in her fighting skills. Maybe those sparring matches he had with her would pay off. He then thought of her cold and calculating face when she attacked him, tried to kill him. Was she that opposed to traveling with him again? He supposed he deserved it. He bowed his head. It didn’t matter if she hated him. He wasn’t supposed to be a factor in her story, anyway. Her opinion didn’t matter.

But it did.

It hurt so much that he felt he couldn’t breathe.

Kaedo absently reached for his compass to draw some calm out of it, and paused when it wasn’t in his pocket. He frowned. He turned out all of them, panic’s jaws crushing his throat closed, before he concluded it wasn’t there. It must have fallen out in the scuffle. Unless…

This was the same Tripitaka that felt guilt over attempting to kill him when she wasn’t in her right mind. She wouldn’t dare attack him again with the same weapon. Kaedo snorted, a sly smile crossing his face. Of course. Perhaps she hadn’t meant to kill him after all. Her plan dawned on him, and he realized what he could do to help her carry it out. He stood up, shaking out his tingling hand.

He prowled around the camp as night fell, searching for her. He watched as she and Sandy entered the caves and followed. Sandy soon quietly encouraged the two guards to Dreglon’s chamber to leave, and Kaedo remained behind. When they headed back, one after the other, Kaedo darted both of them and dragged them to the bushes to sleep it off, Dreglon emerging a second later and hurrying away. Tripitaka walked past Kaedo holding his compass, the stone already aglow with its cool blue light.

“You want to know how to use that thing?” Kaedo asked, causing her to jump a little.

“Not here. The guards will be back soon,” she said, looking down at the compass intently.

He walked over to her and held out the Fangkris. “No they won’t.” She glanced at him warily, taking back the Fangkris. He wiped his sweaty palm on his leg and gestured for them to go. As they hurried out, Pigsy joined them and Kaedo gave her the crash course on how to use the compass. He idly wondered how often she would use it in the future. After they were out of sight of the encampment, Kaedo’s hand was now noticeably warm. His breath caught, and he dared to look down at it.

He could just barely see through the edges. He swallowed hard and kept it out of sight as he pointed with the other.

“Keep to the rocks. You’ll leave no tracks.”

Tripitaka searched his face and smiled, truly, for the first time in what felt like ages. “Thank you, Kaedo.”

He smiled back at her, squeezing closed his now burning hand. He probably should get out of sight soon. “My pleasure, Tripitaka.” He hesitated, turning to go before she called out to him.

“Do you really think I’m the real Tripitaka?”

He paused. What better wisdom did he have for her than the one shared by his mother?

“It’s not what they call you that counts. It’s what you do that does.” She nodded, and Kaedo watched it sink in. He wanted to go, but was suddenly unsure. “Um…”

She glanced at him, and he took a step back towards her, hesitating. A thousand things flashed through his mind, crackling with urgency, things he wanted to tell her, to warn her about. How could he not tell her what she was to him, to the world? That she was brave as the lions she faced and strong enough to make all armies and mountains bow to her resolve? What could he possibly say that would warn her about the scars she’d gain and the hurt she’d endure?

How could he let her go without bracing her for the things to come so horribly soon that was going to break her heart?

Instead he held his tongue and shuffled his feet. “C-Can I… get a hug for the road?” he asked instead, heart thudding painfully fast. She smiled and wrapped her arms around him, folding him into an embrace that wasn’t quite right, but what he needed to abate his fears. He glanced over and saw Monkey waiting for the group, and Kaedo gave him the tiniest of nods. Monkey quirked his mouth into a half smile and returned the gesture. Tripitaka stepped back and ruffled Kaedo’s hair.

“Goodbye, Kaedo.” Her eyes were soft and her words fond. Kaedo smiled, his heart hammering and his hand practically scorching.

“Goodbye, Tripitaka.” He turned and walked away, glancing down at his now transparent hand and seeing the faintest outline of the Scroll of Time lying in his palm. He watched as the gods and Tripitaka reunited and started off on another part of their journey together, as it should be.

Kaedo swallowed hard, holding tight to the scroll that was now physically in his hand, watching the ground become more visible through his feet and looked up to watch Tripitaka disappear from view before he fully faded away.

“Safe journey, Mom.”


	7. Chapter 7

Kaedo landed in a light crouch, blinking in the morning sunlight. He was back, just outside the archive of scrolls. He stood to his feet, glancing around for his parents.

_“Kaedo!”_

He flinched at the sound of his mother’s scream and followed her voice down the rows of scrolls, finding her staring horrified at the place where he’d vanished so long ago. He stepped forward, unsure of how to approach this. Her eyes found his and she gasped, falling back, her horror turned into confusion and a frantic hope.

“Kaedo?” she whispered, clumsily standing to her feet and approaching him, holding out a hand near his face but not quite certain if she could touch him. Kaedo leaned into her palm, the sheer relief of it almost an agony.

“I’m here, Mom,” he whispered. She crushed him into a hug with a cry, running her hand through his hair. He melted into the embrace that he knew so well and never wanted to leave it. “It’s me.”

She held him out after a minute, not letting go of his arms, looking him up and down. She drank in his features, probably noticing that he could look her in the eye now. “What… What happened to you?”

Kaedo’s throat felt thick. “I got sent to the past.”

She looked at his hands, running a hand through his longer hair. “How long were you there?”

“A year,” he finally said, unable to find a way to soften the truth he could finally speak. For some reason the weight of his travels came crashing in at that moment and made his throat fully close up.

Her mouth moved without saying anything, and Kaedo watched her mind work behind her darting eyes, putting together the pieces. She froze, cupping his cheek with her other hand when she finally recognized him.

 _“Kaedo,”_ she whispered, the weight of her realization making her voice shake.

“Hi, Mom,” he replied in an equally small, tremulous voice. She pulled him into another hug, shivering with her tears.

In all the times he dared to imagine their reunion, he never counted on his habitually unshed tears making his eyes squint in pain and squeeze his throat closed. He finally let them fall, splashing onto her clothes. He heard heavy footsteps rapidly approaching, and he looked up to see his dad running in. He stared at Kaedo and wilted in relief before striding forward and sweeping both of them up in his arms.

They remained like that until Kaedo felt his dad lean close and whisper in his ear. “I told you I’d see you soon.”

When she finally released him, Tripitaka gazed at Kaedo. Her hand drifted to his side, looking stricken at the sight of the scar tissue from the Fangkris peeking through the still-torn fabric of his shirt. Even now, she still was carrying that regret. 

“Are you hungry? I know you just ate an hour or so ago when you were… Here last…”

“Why?” Kaedo asked her, stifling a laugh.

“You were always hungry when you were with us,” she said, her face clouding over with freshly discovered grief. Monkey leaned over and pressed his lips to the top of her head.

Kaedo waved her off. “It was a habit I picked up. And I was going through a growth spurt; I guess I still am. But, uh…” he hesitated, mentally calculating when he’d actually eaten last. “For me, it’s been a few hours. After… the past Tripitaka left to go confront Hagfish, I disappeared. But that was like, a few hours after dinner. I mean, I won’t turn away food, if you’re offering…”

His dad ruffled his hair. “You’re going to eat us out of house and home once you’re a teenager, I just know it.”

After a quick snack had been made and eaten, all under Tripitaka’s watchful eye, Monkey took Kaedo aside to speak with him alone by the pond.

Monkey glanced over his shoulder at Tripitaka standing far enough out of earshot, but not so she couldn’t see Kaedo. “I have a feeling she’s not going to let you out of her sight for a while.”

Kaedo shrugged. “That’s fine. I don’t blame her.”

The two were silent. “I’m sorry it had to be this way,” his dad said quietly.

“I know.” Kaedo looked at him. “We… _are_ going to tell her about the how and why, right?”

“Yeah.” Monkey looked glum. “I’m gonna be sleeping on the couch for a while after this.”

Kaedo was silent. “It might help if I tell her I’ve forgiven you. I… I understand now.”

“And here I thought you hated your old man,” he sighed. “Your conversations referring to me were never positive.”

“I had a year to myself before I ran into you guys,” Kaedo said, reaching for his compass and remembering he didn’t have it anymore. He instead rested his head on his knees. “I was a lost, lonely kid trying to rationalize in circles why his dad would send him away. Of course I hated you.”

Monkey was thoughtful. Kaedo was struck by the difference between the immature god he met in the past and the one he called dad, even if they looked the same. “I tried, you know. I fought with that damn scroll for ages after it showed me its vision, trying to find another way, anything so you didn’t have to go…”

“I get it.” Kaedo looked at his regret-lined face. “If you needed to do it all over again, I’d do it. Fangkris shanking and all.”

His dad made a thoughtful noise. “Well as bad as it sounds, it did seem to mellow you out. You didn’t talk about hating your dad after that. Now that I think about it, you didn’t really seem to hate me after that either,” Monkey mused.

Kaedo wanted to say that he and his mom talked it over in that strange hallucination, but didn’t feel up to it at the moment. Maybe later. “What helped was that I got to beat the hell out of you. Then yell at you.”

Monkey grunted. “Ah. Right.” He glanced at Kaedo. “Try that right now and you won’t get the same result you did in the arena, I assure you.”

“Sure,” Kaedo replied, drawing out the word. “I’ve had a whole year to pick up skills you haven’t seen yet.”

“I’ll take you up on that. If you want,” his dad added carefully. He paused. “If it’s any consolation, I did take your little rant to me to heart. I did try to show I cared more after-”

“Dad? Really don’t need to know how you won over Mom,” Kaedo interjected. “That damn love gas was traumatizing enough.”

“Oh. Yeah, huh.” He thought for a bit. “I try and forget about that too.”

They were quiet, watching the water for a moment before Monkey spoke up again. “Uh. I know you said you don’t hate me, but…”

Kaedo was silent.

“Ever since the scroll showed me what needed to happen and I realized who you truly were, who you were supposed to be to us in our pasts… I thought a lot about what you said to us. How you thought that your dad on some level hated you.”

Kaedo went still. He had not been anticipating this to be in the first conversation he had with him when he got back. Monkey noticed.

“I know you’ve got a good memory. More than you let on. It probably doesn’t help when you see things on repeat every time you dream.”

“Some of it gets changed around. That’s the human part of me,” Kaedo said, letting his voice go flat.

“Still. I don’t want the only things you remember is stuff I said when I was at my worst.” Monkey hesitated. “Most of your memories were of home. I can’t imagine you constantly being reminded of that for a year by yourself.”

“Sometimes it helped.”

“Regardless, it’s true. For a second, the worst second of my entire life, I did hate you.” He searched Kaedo’s eyes. “But it was the briefest shadow of my darkest thoughts. I was scared I was going to lose you both. It wasn’t right and it wasn’t fair, and it never happened again. Not even close.”

Kaedo swallowed hard. He knew this was true, but hearing it made the earth shake beneath him.

“To me, to both of us,” his dad went on, “You are the grand prize to a game we didn’t even know we could play. And we love you more than you know. And if I hadn’t sent you back, I… would never have been able to meet you.”

“All that buildup because Hagfish tried to kill Mom when he had her trapped in that doll?” Kaedo asked.

Monkey shook his head. “That wasn’t the vision the scroll showed me. It was a good save though, nice work,” he added as an afterthought.

“What did you see, then?”

“She stayed at Lion Heart Rock. She didn’t fight in the battle, of course, but she got discovered by the demons that overran the place and…” He shook his head. “You being there is what really convinced her to leave, follow her own intuition and forge her own path. I mean, she always does, but you were the key motivator.”

“What you’re saying is I made her mad enough so she left out of spite?” Suddenly Kaedo didn’t feel as bad for breaking her spirit.

His dad shrugged. “You’d be surprised at how effective that is,” he said with a chuckle.

Kaedo smiled as well and leaned his shoulder on him. “I forgive you, Dad.”

He slumped with his smile. “Thanks, son.” He squeezed his shoulder. “And thank you for watching out for her.”

Kaedo stood up and pulled Monkey to his feet without any effort and started walking back to Tripitaka, who met them halfway and pulled him into another hug and kissed his temple. He’d never get tired of that. “So what now?”

He shrugged. “At this point? Whatever you want.” He cracked a smile. “It is your birthday, after all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once my lovely beta hangryeowyn told me her theory of who Kaedo was, I couldn't stop thinking about it. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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